Running Fearless
by D3ANwasH3R3
Summary: Sequel to Running Scared Katie was tired of running away from her problems and realized if she was ever going to find out what SHIELD was hiding, then she was going to have to face them head on. What she discovers will shake the lives of everyone. SHIELD has been compromised, and so a team of superheroes plus a damaged lab tech will have to decide if a rescue is even worth it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I got a great review with a suggestion that I am going to take. The last chapter did seem like the end of that saga and now it's time to start a new one. So here's the first chapter of "Running Fearless" And as always...**

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

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Do you ever just sit and reflect on your life. Just sit in front of a television or computer monitor and only pay attention to the images in your head. Katie sat at a small table of the small bistro listening to the distant sounds of an accordion playing. She looked up to the sight of the Eiffel Tower. Paris, France, the city of love. And here she was searching for a physicist she believed may be connected to Shield and Project Insight.

Running was now apart of her life. It was a necessity, because not running meant being caught and that wasn't an option.

Katie sat in front of her laptop not paying attention to the images on the screen. Instead she thought about the last year and a half of her life and how she hadn't seen or spoken to any of her friends or family. It was something else taken from her. She wanted to place all the blame on Shield, but in the end it was her choice.

Her eyes had witnessed so much. From aliens calling themselves gods, to a billionaire scientist who started as her biggest annoyance to becoming her best friend. She had admitted her feelings for Clint, the man she probably loved since the day he interrupted her lunch, and had to stand strong the day she watched him walk away from her. There were times she wondered how it is she was still standing. There were moments when she came back to that moment, standing there and listening to Clint tell her that he loved her, but not that he was going to leave with her, not that he believed her... it was what he didn't say that hurt the most.

Katie was snapped out of her thoughts by a beeping from her laptop. She dropped her eyes to the screen and tilted her head as she read.

"Why did your name show up on Shield's must have list for this project Dr. Heisenberg?" Katie muttered as she looked to the information that appeared. It was a tracking software she enabled to detect the doctors credit card activity. "Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg" she read the hotel's name before closing her laptop and sliding it into her bag. "Well it would be rude of me not to say hi" Katie stood to her feet tossing a couple of bills to the table before walking along the side walk. Her fingers went to pulling the baseball cap over her head to cover her eyes. For the past year and a half most of Katie's days were spent looking over her shoulder. She wasn't naive. She pissed off a lot of people and they weren't just going to let her go.

A piece of paper blowing in the wind hit her ankle and she stopped picking it up. It was a flyer for Resillience. One of the biggest science conventions in the world. The place would be filled with some of the most brilliant minds from across the globe, which is why finding Dr. Heisenberg wasn't that difficult.

The walk to Le Faubourg wasn't too far, and it gave Katie time to come up with an effective plan for entry. She knew it wouldn't be easy. Especially if this guy was working with Shield, then there probably were a couple of agents somewhere near. She was going to have to do what she did best, and that was keep her head down. Katie stepped through the front door, her eyes going to the front desk. She spotted the computers and knew if she was going to locate Heisenberg then she needed to be on the other side of that desk. She let her eyes scan over the hotel's lobby. It was obvious that there was some kind of event happening from the amount of people moving about. Katie decided to try her luck with a good ole fashion lie. She walked over to the front desk and waited in line until it was her turned to be served.

"Bonjour madame, comment puis-je vous aider" the clerk said his accent thick as he asked how he could help her. Katie noted the man's smile not quite making it to his eyes. He was exhausted and it showed.

"Uh, Bonjour" Katie greeted hoping her French was too rusty. "Je suis ici sur le travail" She assumed during this busy time, the hotel would be looking for extra help and hoped some lie about being sent by an agency would be believable. The clerk looked at her confused for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Zee, agency sent you?" he asked and Katie simply nodded with a wide smile. "Dieu merci, this place is a mad house and we desperately needed some extra help, but I assumed there would be more of you"

"As you can imagine, this is a pretty busy time for the agency as well" Katie said slightly shrugging. "We're being outsourced to so many places, its crazy. You're lucky to have gotten me"

"Oui, Oui" the clerk said with a nod before looking over to the clerk beside him. "Anton, aller chercher mademoiselle,-" his brow furrowed before turning back to Katie. "I so sorry, I didn't get your name"

"Uh, Kitty" Katie said with a nod. "Kitty Fline"

"Strange name" he said before turning back to the clerk. "Get mademoiselle Fline set up and let her follow Cheri à l'étage d'or"

"The Gold Floor?" Katie thought as she tried to keep up with what he was saying. He turned back to her and she quickly plastered on another smile.

"Anton will get you set up with a uniform and you will train with l'un des meilleurs sur servantes" the clerk said and Katie didn't know what to expect for this best maid in the place, but it was her in and she was going to take it.

Katie simply nodded before following Anton. She looked back to the computer behind the desk.

"New plan" Katie thought as she turned to follow the young man. He didn't say much as they walked down the halls of the staff quarters. Katie's eyes scanned the area mostly out of habit. Another one of her father's rules that she couldn't let go, even if she wanted to. Anton suddenly stopped unexpectedly, causing Katie to run right into his back.

"Sorry, I mean Je suis désolé" Katie said with a slight nod. The man looked annoyed but turned to the older woman that stood before them. Katie looked over to the woman whose stood straight, her head held high as she looked over Katie as if examining her. The woman's blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun on top of her head.

"Remove the hat" The woman said her gravely French accent almost made Katie shutter. Katie let out a sigh before reaching up and removing the baseball cap. She ran a hand over her now pixie hair cut that she was still getting used to, before bringing her eyes back to the woman. "Hmph" she said as she began circling Katie like a vulture. Before Katie knew what was happening the woman was shoving a uniform into her chest. "Put it on, rapidement"

"Oui madam" Katie said before going to change into the uniform.

Katie stood looking at herself in the outfit thanking whoever was listening that she didn't have to wear what she usually thought of when she thought of a French maid's uniform. She straightened the bonnet on her head and almost jumped at the rapping at the door.

"First rule, move quickly and with purpose!" Cheri called from the other side of the door.

"Great, more rules" Katie muttered before stuffing her bag and clothes into one of the vacant locker before going on to see the woman who looked as if most of her life was spent sucking on sour grapes.

"Venir" the woman ordered for Katie to come along, before walking away. Katie tried her best to keep in step with the woman who even though she was walking, was moving at an impressive speed. Cheri was talking, probably informing Katie of the do's and don't of Faubourg, but Katie barely listened as she let her eyes scan over the halls hoping for a glance to the doctor. "seigneur, are you even listening?" Katie's attention came back to the woman and she simply nodded.

"Oui" Katie said with a small smile. Cheri rolled her eyes before continuing down the hall muttering something in French Katie knew wasn't a compliment.

"We are responsible for the l'étage d'or" Cheri said casting a sideways glance to Katie. "We don't get many guests to this floor at a time, which is good. Meaning we can give the guests we do have as much attention as they needed." They stopped in front of a door that seemed to be the only door around the entire floor. "Each guest gets their only wing for privacy concerns" Cheri raised a hand and knocked on the door. "Ménagère!"

"One second!" a voice called from the other side. Katie shook her head in annoyance. She really needed to get back to finding Dr. Heisenberg and not playing the french maid. She looked to Cheri's back and decided to taking her chances and slipping away. The door swung open and appeared a beautiful woman with cherry blonde hair. "Oh, hello"

"Bon jour, madame. I am Cheri and I shall service you for your stay" Cheri said with a slight curtsey.

"Oh, ok" the woman said holding out a hand for a shake. "I'm Virginia Potts, but everyone calls me Pepper" Cheri looked to the woman's hand a bit hesitant, but shook it anyway. "Please come in" Cheri nodded before looking over her shoulder, surprised that there was no one there. "Tony!" Cheri turned and walked inside just as a man she instantly recognized appeared. "Tony, meet Cheri, she's going to be our personal housekeeper while we're here" Tony looked the woman up and down before walking out of the room. "Sorry, he's not really a people person"

"It is quite alright" Cheri said. "My personal number is programmed into the room's phone, so if there is anything you need, just give me a call"

"I sure will, thank you" Pepper said with a smile. Cheri gave another slight curtsey before turning and leaving. Pepper turned and headed into the bedroom where she found Tony lying on the bed next to Matthew. "You were rude"

"I was me" Tony said looking over to Matthew whose eyes were focused on his tablet.

"Why is he in our bed?" Pepper sighed looking over to Matthew who glanced over his tablet to her. Since Matthew came into their lives it was as if he'd been there forever, comfortably making a place for himself. That place seemed to be annoying little brother.

"Apparently looking for French single women" Tony said glancing at the tablet before Matthew pulled it away and stood to his feet.

"Bite me Tony" Matthew said before turning to Pepper. "I don't have to go to this convention or whatever do I?"

"Well seeing as you're my new personal assistant, I would say yes" Tony said and Matthew glanced over to him.

"Stop calling me that. Just because I get you coffee and pick up your dry cleaning and-" Matthew just shook his head and sighed. "I'm not helping my argument" he turned back to Pepper.

"Tony's right. if you want to be paid, you actually have to work" Pepper said with a shrug before looking over to Tony. "I have a meeting with the CEO of Cyberteck. I want to plant the seed of a merger. Can I count on you two to behave yourselves"

"We're grown men Pep, of course we can behave ourselves" Tony says standing to his feet and walking over to his girlfriend and placing his hands on her waist. "Don't you trust me"

"Not as far as I can throw you honey" Pepper said before giving him a quick peck to his lips. "You hate these conventions, so you suddenly wanting to come to this one specifically lets me know that you're up to something" Pepper says before grabbing her purse. She turns to Matthew. "And as his personal assistant it's your job to make sure he doesn't end up on some magazine cover or some breaking news. Keep him in the building and out of trouble."

"You make it seem like I'm a child and he's my babysitter" Tony says and Pepper simply shakes her head.

"I should be back in time for dinner, I made reservations so make sure he's dressed and ready to go" Pepper was about to head out when Matthew called her.

"And when does he take his nap?"Matthew asked. Pepper sent him a glare before sauntering out of the room. "This sucks. I'm in Paris, and I'm stuck with you" he looked over to Tony who was rummaging around his bag before pulling out a transparent sheet and sliding it across the table. "What are you doing?" Matthew watched as Tony touched the sheet activating a hologram.

"I'm looking for someone" Tony said swiping and typing away. "A doctor Ralph Heisenberg"

"Ok, why?" Matthew asked walking beside him hoping to see what he was trying to accomplish.

"Well while I was assisting Shield with their little project, I may or may not have been snooping and spotted the doctor's name on one of Nick's files" Tony said when a picture appear. "And once I had a name-"

"You found out he was going to be at this convention and made up some bullshit story about getting together with great minds that you sold to your girlfriend so we could be here" Matthew said and Tony look over to him.

"Pretty much" Tony said with a smile. "Dr. Heisenberg has a connection to Shield, I want to know what it is. And don't worry, we won't even have to leave the hotel"

"He's staying here?"

"Yep" Tony said already hacking into the hotel's system to find out where the doctor was staying.

Pepper stood looking down to her cell phone as she waited for the elevator to open. She glanced up as the doors opened only to stop when she saw a familiar face.

"Clint, hey" Pepper said stepping onto the elevator. "This is a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Working" Clint said with a nod. Pepper noticed the man dressed in all black stood at a distance in the small elevator. "The agency wants us to keep an eye on someone. What are you doing here?"

"The convention. Tony surprisingly wanted to come and it could be good for the company" Pepper said as the elevator stopped. "Well I have a meeting" She stepped off the elevator, but stopped and turned back to him. "Have you-" she cleared her throat. "Have you heard from her?" She was surprised when Tony came back and said that Katie was gone. She didn't believe it, but with each passing day there was no word from her. Pepper hated to admit that she was kind of glad. Tony wasn't pouring all of his energy into this woman, but the other part of her was guilty. Tony liked to pretend that he was fine, that not seeing Katie didn't effect him, but there were times Pepper would find him standing on the balcony alone. As much as Pepper hated to admit, Katie had become Tony's best friend, one he was finding it hard to just forget.

"No" Clint said before reaching forward and pressing one of the buttons. "I should go" Pepper nodded and took a step back and watched as the doors slid closed.

Clint stood on the elevator staring up to the numbers, before pulling out his cell phone and dialing a familiar number.

"_Agent Barton, please tell me you haven't run into trouble already_" Fury answered.

"I'm not sure yet sir" Clint replied. "Stark is here"

_"You think he's going to be a problem?"_ Fury asked.

"This is Stark sir, he doesn't come to conventions, he likes his toys not people" Clint replied. "I think he maybe up to something"

"_As long as his something doesn't involve our doctor then I don't care_" Fury said. "_Where is Heisenberg now?"_

"In his room. I'm doing a sweep" Clint says as the doors slide open. He freezes when he see a maid down the hall walk past before disappearing down another. He was a couple of feet away, but there was no denying the woman's resemblance.

_"Agent Barton, did you hear me?_" Fury asked.

"Sir, I have to go. I'll call if anything comes up" Clint spoke before ending the call before the director could reply. Clint almost ran down the long hallway, stopping and looking in the direction the woman had gone, but there was no one there. "I'm going nuts" he muttered as he scanned down all the halls. It wouldn't be the first time he thought he saw Katie. The last time he saw her was right before she jumped off of the roof of Shield. It had been a little over a year since the last he saw her and if you asked him the exact time he probably could give it to you. He missed her with every passing day and it killed him not knowing where she was or the fact that she thought he didn't choose her. He pressed a finger to his comlink. "We're all clear, keep your eyes open. I don't want any surprises"

Katie found herself back in the lobby, glad that the crowd had thinned down a bit. She looked over to the front desk to see that the clerk was nowhere in sight. If she was going to do this then it was going to have to be now. She quickly walked behind the front desk going straight for the computer. After bypassing the initial security screen, Katie was able to search the guest log, but to her dismay Heisenberg wasn't checked in under his name.

"Great" Katie muttered. This was going to take longer than she anticipated. She glanced up making sure she was still in the clear before glancing back down to the screen. Now she had to locate the room purchased with Heisenberg's credit card. Which would've been a snap if the computer wasn't ancient and moving slower than a snail. "Come on" she looked over to see the Clerk appearing on the other side of the lobby. "Shit" she muttered looking down to the computer when the information suddenly appeared. "Got it" she quickly closed down the screen and scurried from behind the desk. She was so determined to get away that she didn't see wasn't paying attention and bumped into someone causing them to drop their glasses.

"Shit, I'm sorry" Katie said dropping down to pick them up. "I don't think they're-" she stopped when she looked up to familiar green eyes. "Bruce" Bruce's eyes widened as he looked to Katie.

"Katie, what-"

Katie looked over her shoulder to see the clerk looking over to her and Bruce with a look of confusion.

"This is all I need right now" Katie said before turning back to Bruce. "Bruce I know you have no reason to do this, but I need you not to tell anyone that you saw me here"

"What are you doing here?" Bruce asked. "Are you here to see Tony?" Katie's eyes widened. "You didn't know he was here?"

"No" Katie said closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath. She opened her eyes and pointed to the elevator. "No problem at all monsieur, I will be happy to show you" Bruce looked around confused but followed Katie over to the elevators. Once they stepped inside they turned to each other.

"You want to tell me what's going on here?" Bruce asked. "No one has heard anything from you, I thought you were dead"

"Well I'm not" Katie said taking a step toward him. "I'm..." even after all this time she couldn't find a word to describe what she was doing. "I'm digging"

"You have a lot of people looking for you, you know that?" Bruce asked. "After that stunt at Shield, you're at the top of the most wanted list"

"All I did was turn the lights off" Katie countered with a shrug.

"No all you did was prove to an agency that can't afford to be compromised that there is one person who can and has proven that they're not really safe" Bruce replied. "I think they've created a special threat level just for you"

"That's cool" Katie replied looking over her shoulder as the elevator doors slide open. "Look, no one can know I'm here. Once I do what I came here to do, then I'm gone"

"What did you come here to do?" Bruce asked and Katie shook her head.

"Sorry Bruce, I'm on this mission alone" Katie said before turning about to walk away. She stopped and turned back to the man before standing on the tips of her toes to place a kiss on his cheek. "It's good to see you my green friend" and with that she turned and almost ran away.

"Why do I get the feeling this weekend isn't going to be as calming as I would like" Bruce says looking down to his watch that's monitoring his heart rate. He notices the subtle spike and sighs before going to find Tony.

Katie walked down the halls, now looking over her shoulder because now there were people here who knew who she was. She'd gone all this time without coming under anyone's radar and now she was so close to being caught. Katie was so deep in her head that she barely missed bumping into someone. She let out a long sigh when she saw that it was Cheri.

"Sotte, where have you been, I have been looking for you everywhere" Cheri said forcefully grabbing Katie's arm and pulling her.

"I had to pee and then I got lost" Katie replied trying the pull from the woman's grasp, but for a older lady she had a really tight grip. "where are we going?"

"I'm taking you somewhere you can't get lost" the woman reply. Katie was about to question her when they past a hall. Two guards, Katie instantly recognized as Shield posted outside a door.

"It's now or never" Katie muttered before turning to Cheri who was still pulling her. "Oh, Cheri" the older woman stopped and turned to Katie.

"What do you-" the woman's question was cut off as Katie quickly wrapped an arm around the woman's neck.

"No offense, but the stick up your butt is making you a bitch, so how about a nap" Katie said before looking around to make sure the coast was clear as she felt the woman go limp in her arms. Katie dragged the woman inside a nearby maid's closet before straightening out her uniform and headed back toward the room. She stopped just at the corner of the hall peeking to see the agents still at their post not looking like they're about to move for any reason. Her back pressed firmly on the wall, Katie closes her eyes. There's only one way in that room and that means getting the two obstacles out of the way. And that meant calling them to her... sort of. "Oh my god!" she yelled. "He has a gun!" She looked around to make sure no one other than the guards heard her, but no one even stepped out of their room.

The agents stood outside Heisenberg's and shared a look after hearing the voice.

"Could be nothing" one of them said and the other shrugged. "Some kid just messing around"

"Or it could be something and I don't want to be the one to tell the hawk that we didn't at least check it out"

"I doubt he would even care."

"Whatever, I'm going" and with that one of the agents headed in the direction the voice came a hand hovering above his gun. The other guard stayed at his post watching his partner walk down the hall. He shook his head before letting his eyes roam the other end of the hall. He heard what sounded like a grunt and turned back to see his partner no where in sight.

"Reese" the agent called but didn't get a reply. He had a feeling that something wasn't right, so he looked over his shoulder to the door. He wouldn't go far and he'd be back soon enough. He took out his gun and headed down the hall. "Reese?" It was at the end of the hall that he found his partner lying on the floor unconscious, a maid standing above him. "What the hell happened?"

"There was this woman" Katie said walking over to the agent. "And she totally just did some Kung fu shit and just-" her hand quickly shot out grabbing the the top of the slide pulling it forward causing the clip to drop to the floor. The agent swung a fist and Katie ducked barely missing the hit. She grabbed the side of his arm before twisting it and pushing his face into the wall. She pulled him back slightly before pushing him back into the wall, this time the hit knocking him unconscious. "Now that was a workout" Katie says now out of breath before bending over and grabbing one of the agents and pulling him to the maids closet. She did the same with the other agent, stuffing their bodies inside the cramped space with Cheri. After a few moments of cleaning up her mess, Katie found herself standing outside of Heisenberg's door. She plastered on a bright smile before reaching up a fist and rapping on the door. "Le ménage!" she called hoping the German born was familiar with the French translation of housekeeping. She stood there looking down either side of the barren halls before turning as the door opened and a gray haired man appeared.

"I did not call for housekeeping" the man said his German accent thick and aged.

"Well here at Le Faubourg we like to anticipate our guests needs" Katie said before reaching behind her and pulling out the gun she snagged from one of the agents. "Like now, you need to walk back into your room slowly and take a seat"

"Who are you?"

"Let's just say we have some common acquaintances" Katie said stepping inside as the man backed away. "Now take a seat, we should talk"

Clint was doing a sweep of the outside of the hotel, glad to have come up empty. He was actually hopeful that he can get the doctor back to HQ without any hitches.

"Exterior clear, how's it going up there?" Clint asked. He waited for a response, but the only answer he got was silence. "This is Hawkeye, reply" still nothing and that's when he began having a sinking feeling. Without a second thought Clint went running back into the hotel, heading straight for the elevator.

Bruce knocked on Tony's door and wasn't surprised when it swung open to see Matthew, the new edition to their screwed up group.

"What's up doc?" Matthew greeted moving aside to let the man inside. "I thought you were smart enough to skip this fiasco"

"Tony called me again last night and gave me some story about how this was a once and a lifetime opportunity for me to congregate with my peers" Bruce said stepping inside the room.

"Plus he told you there was a chance Dr. Ross could be here" Matthew said and Bruce gave the man a confused look. "It was a long plane ride and I talk non stop to distract myself from the whole thought of possibly plummeting to my death, but don't worry I'll help you woo your girl"

"Thanks for the offer, but no thank you" Bruce said glancing around the room. "Where's Tony?"

"Oh you are going to love this" Matthew said when Tony finally appeared now dressed in a black suit and tie that fit him impeccably as always. "That's what you're wearing"

"I'm not sure how long this is going to take and I thought I wouldn't waste time for my date" Tony said before looking over to Bruce. "Brucey baby you made it, I'm glad"

"Stop calling me that and why are you glad to see me?" Bruce asked.

"Because you intimidate people you know with your whole green rage monster and I need a little intimidation on my side" Tony said straightening his tie. He glanced down to his watch. "We have to do this now"

"Do what exactly?" Bruce asked still trying to decipher what was happening.

"Oh, we're going to shake down some German scientist" Matthew said and Bruce looked over to him waiting for the punch line. When it didn't come he looked over to Tony who simply nodded.

"Ok, why?"

"Heisenberg's in bed with Shield, and I want to know why" Tony said before heading to the door, Matthew behind him. Bruce stood there for a moment suddenly having the feeling that Katie and Tony's plans were crossing and they didn't even know it. The doctor shook his head before turning to catch up with Tony and Matthew.

Heisenberg sat in the center of a couch as Katie sat in a chair across from him, a gun held firmly in her hand pointed at him.

"You have no idea what you are doing you dumme schlampe" Heisenberg hissed and Katie let out a snort.

"Would you believe that a stupid bitch isn't the worse thing I've been called" Katie replied crossing her legs. "Lets cut through the bullshit, shall we. I have places to be and you have a speech to give."

"I will not tell you anything" the doctor replied defiantly turning away from Katie.

"The agents who were outside your door are going to be gone for a while meaning there won't be anyone here to stop me when I beat you to death with this gun" Katie said and the doctor turned to her. "You're being escorted by Shield Agents, which I can only assume mean they think you're worth protecting. Why is that?" Heisenberg remains silent and Katie shakes her head before holding up the gun and pulling the trigger shooting the man in the shoulder. The man lets out yelp, but bites his bottom lip to stop any sound from coming out. Katie quirks an eyebrow. He was trying not to show how painful the shot was. "Now the first shot was not fatal, it'll heal in a month or so, the next shot starts altering behavior. What do you offer Shield?" The man gripped his bleeding shoulder before turning back to Katie. "Ok, lets go for the leg. I'm sure the ladies will think a limp is sexy" she pointed the gun toward Heisenberg's knee cap.

"Knowledge!" he snapped and Katie brought her eyes back to him. "I can offer them knowledge"

"You're a physicist, they literally employ hundreds of them . Why are you so special?" Katie asked.

"Not my knowledge of physics, but my knowledge from work with Arnim Zola." Heisenberg says and Katie turns away slight surprised. "You have heard of him?"

"You can say that" Katie says.

Clint stood nervously on the elevator as he impatiently waited for it to reach his intended floor. He let out a groan of annoyance when it stopped sooner than he wanted. But his annoyance only grew when he saw who was stepping onto the elevator.

"Huh"Tony said stepping onto the elevator with Matthew and Bruce. "Now this is a surprise. What are you doing here big bird?"

"None of your business Stark" Clint said reaching around the man to close the elevator door. "I can't say I'm surprised, you seem to make it a point to stick your nose in other peoples business"

"I'm sorry, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tony asked taking a step forward only for Matthew to pull him back. Tony looked over to the young man.

"Even I know he could take you and I don't even know him" Matthew said.

"Well why don't I introduce you" Tony said. "Matthew Banks meet Clint Barton" Tony turned back to Clint. "Big bird meet Katie's little brother Matthew" Clint's eyes go to the man and Matthews once passive glance morphed into a glare.

"So you're Bart" Matthew said taking a step toward the archer.

"Let's not do this" Bruce said pulling Matthew away. "Clint, what are you doing here now"

"Sorry, doc it's sort of need to know" Clint said glancing up to the increasing numbers relieved he was almost to his destination. Bruce just shook his head.

"You wouldn't be here because of Dr. Ralph Heisenberg would you?" Bruce asked and the look Clint gave him was answer enough. "That's just perfect"

"I knew Stark being here would cause trouble" Clint said looking back to the elevator doors. "I don't know what you're doing here, but stay as far away from the doctor as humanly possible" The doors slid open and Clint pushed his way out, running down the hall. Tony stepped off the elevator running down the hall as well, Matthew right on his tail as Bruce decides to just hang back away from all the excitement and just leisurely walks down the hall.

Clint knew absolutely something was wrong when he ran to the doctors room and found that the guards he ordered not to move from this post were nowhere in side. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key card, quickly swiping it and opening the door to find the doctor sitting on the couch gripping his bleeding arm.

"She went that way" Heisenberg says pointing toward the bedroom. Clint looks over to the door, before turning as Tony and Matthew come to the door.

"Have Banner check him out" Clint orders pointing to Heisenberg.

"What's going on?" Tony asks and Clint simply shakes his head before heading into the bedroom. He walks inside to find a gun sitting on the bed, but his eyes go to the opened window whose curtains blow in the window. "What-" Tony bursts in looking over to the window.

"Stay out of this Stark" Clint says walking over to the window, peeking out his head just in time to see someone slide around the corner of the building. Clint lets out a low growl before climbing out of the window to stand on the very narrow ledge. He carefully and quickly slides to follow the woman. Tony peeks his head out of the window looking up to Clint before looking down at how high they were.

"You do know that you're not actually a hawk?" Tony asks. "If you fall, that's just like the end"

"Will you shut the fuck up Stark!" Clint yelled trying to focus on keeping his feet secure. He moved around the corner to see an open window. He back into the window dropping inside the empty room to see the room's door wide open. There was no hesitation as he runs out into the hall to see what looked like a maid turning down a corner further down the hall. "Hey!" he yells before running down the hall. The moment he turns the corner he sees the maid now full on running toward the elevator. She stops pushing the button and having the elevator instantly open. The maid steps inside before turning to agent and in that moment they both stop and just look to the faces neither had seen in what seemed like forever. "Kat" Katie took a slight step forward only for the elevator doors to slide closed. Clint's feet are running again, this time only stopping to push the button, hoping for the doors to just slide open and for her to still be there.

"Barton!" he hears Tony's voice but does stop his attempt at bringing her back. "Barton!" Tony snaps grabbing the archer's shoulder only for Clint push him away. "What the hell is wrong with you, who were you chasing?"

"Katie" another voice speaks and they turned to see Bruce walking over to them.

"You saw her?" Clint asks glad that the woman he saw in the elevator wasn't just a figment of his imagination.

"Yeah, I sort of ran into her in the lobby earlier" Bruce said.

"And you didn't think that was something to share?" Tony asked.

"I was hoping to avoid the crazy for a while, but I see now that's impossible" Bruce said with a shake of her head. "She must have found out about Heisenberg and got to him first" Tony turns back to the elevator as they slide open both he and Clint stepping inside. "Tony, she's gone, you know she's gone" Tony doesn't say anything as the elevator doors slide closed.

The moment Katie's feet touch the floor of the lobby she's moving. She glances over to clerk who raises a hand for her to come over to him which she ignores as she turns and enters the staff quarters. Once she reaches the locker room she snags her bag and slips back on her clothes and tosses her bag over her shoulder.

"Breath Katie" she tells herself as she feels her heart ramming in her chest as the sight of Clint remains glued in her mind. She walks back toward the lobby, stopping as she opens the door to see Clint and Tony standing in the middle, their eyes scanning before one of them spots her. "Tony" Katie mutters as her and the man's eyes meet. She refuses to to be caught, by anyone and at this point running was second nature, so Katie begins backing away.

"Wait!" Tony called already running after her, Clint right behind him.

"Monsieur!" The clerk calls trying to stop the two men, but his cries were falling upon deaf ears as Tony and Clint push through the door in to the staff area. They ran as fast as their feet could take them, ending up just outside the back door. Both men stood there, breathing heavily as they let their eyes scan over the area, but Katie was just gone.

"I can't believe she ran from me" Tony said still heaving. He glanced over to Clint. "Actually I can believe, you're here." Tony turned and walked back into the hotel. Clint stood there for a moment letting his eyes scan over the area hoping to to a clue as to where she went. When he didn't see anything he sighed and turned walking back into the hotel as well.

Clint walked back to Heisenberg's room to find Bruce and Matthew still trying to help the man who was still bleeding.

"He's going to need to get to a hospital" Bruce said looking over to Clint.

"That won't be necessary" Clint says and they look over to him confused. "You guys can go"

"Barton-" Bruce says standing to his feet. "If he doesn't get medical attention he's at risk for bleeding out, or infection"

"Which I'm fully aware of doc" Clint says turning her eyes to the man. "But first me and Heisenberg have to have a little talk about what happened today"

"I know what happened, that crazy bitch shot me" The man hissed still keeping pressure on his arm. "Did you at least catch her?" All eyes once again went to Clint.

"No" Clint replied. With those words Matthew was storming out of the room.

"Matt!" Bruce called before looking to Clint. "He needs a doctor and medicine" and with that Bruce turned to catch up to Matthew. Once the door closed Clint turned to the German doctor whose eyes were on his arm. After a moment Heisenberg turned to see Clint looking down to him.

"What?"

"You didn't see who shot you" Clint said taking a step to the man. "It all happened so fast and you couldn't quite see their face"

"What are you talking about, she was sitting right in front of me when she shot me" Heisenberg said with a shake of his head. "She was about to shoot me again if I didn't tell her why your agency hired me"

"Look, I get it, you want revenge. I'm just telling you that it's not going to happen" Clint replies his eyes growing darker and he kneels in front of the doctor. "I know it doesn't make much sense, but take my advice and just feign ignorance"

"And if I don't?" Heisenberg asked and Clint smiled slightly which only unnerved the doctor.

"I'm the only assurance that you get back to DC in one piece" Clint said standing up straight. "Just imagine what would happen if I'm not happy"

Later that evening Clint stood in the back of the auditorium watching Heisenberg standing at a podium giving his speech to the hundreds of other great minds in the room. He notices the doctor ever so often rubbing his freshly bandaged shoulder.

"We all clear?" Clint whispered into com-link. His agents replied back that everything was clear. Clint knew he should be relieved, but it only verified that Katie really was gone for good. "Well keep your eyes open. We're not home free until we get him back on that carrier to HQ" And so he stood there listening to the most boring speech he'd ever hear. He thanked God when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He suspected it was the director to yell at him some more, but he glanced down to his phone to see that it was an unknown number. "Barton" Clint spoke, but no one said anything. "Hello, is anybody-"

_"First time we're both in Paris and we're not even together"_ Katie spoke. Clint lifted his eyes to Heisenberg who still was giving his never ending speech before dipping out of the auditorium.

"Where are you?" Clint asked.

_"You're the enemy now, I'm not going to tell you"_

"I'm not your enemy Kat" Clint replied. "I just-" he let out a sigh. He hadn't spoken to her in so long and now that he was he didn't know quite what to say. "I need to see you" she didn't say anything for a moment.

"_I'm in Paris Bart_" Katie replied. _"Where do you think I am?"_ and with that the line ended.

Clint looked down to his phone before looking over his shoulder to the auditorium door. He reached into his ear pulling out his com link before dropping it to the floor and stomping on it with his boot. After that there was no turning back and so Clint headed for the door.

* * *

**A/N: Soo, first chapter... what do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: First off I think you all should know, you're awesome. And because you're awesome, I decided to crank out another chapter especially for you guys. And as always...**

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

* * *

There are moments in life where doing what's right could be construed as the absolute wrong thing to do. Going to see a woman considered a threat, by some might not be the right thing to do. To Clint, however, whether is was right or wrong, it didn't matter. All he knew was that he needed to see Katie. And so that's what he did.

_One of the perks of having a friend like Katie was that to distract you from the fact that you didn't know important things about her, was to tell you lots and lots of trivial things about her. That's why Clint could probably tell you her favorite food, color, hair band and a bunch of other things no one probably would care about. He also knew places she wanted to visit in her life, and Paris made the list. She told him that if she ever got the chance to go to Paris she would visit one place no matter what. _

_Paris at night didn't compare to much of anything. It was just flawless. And it too was a city that never slept. The Eiffel Tower was one of the biggest attractions and even at night was filled with people. Clint arrived trying his best to move through the crowd, and search for Katie among the many faces. He didn't expect for her to make finding her easy, but he didn't expect it to be this hard. He only stopped when he felt someone pulling on the back of his jacket. _

"_Monsieur!" a small voice said and Clint turned to see a boy who looked no older than a above twelve or thirteen. "Are you Bart?" Clint looked somewhat confused by this seemlessly random greeting, but nodded. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone handing it to Clint before running away. _

"_Hey!" Clint called after the boy. "Wait, come back here!" It was no use, the boy had disappeared in the crowd. The phone began vibrating and Clint glanced down to it before hesitantly bringing it to his ear. "Yeah" _

"_Were you followed?" Katie's voice asked and he lifted his head scanning around to see if he could spot her. _

"_No" he replied spinning around. "Kid with a burn phone, you watch way too many movies" _

"_Some of the best ideas come from movies" Katie replied and Clint smiled. "So you found me, I guess you did listen when I talked" _

"_Where are you Kat?" Clint said wanting more than ever just to see her. _

"_How do you know you weren't followed?" Katie asked and Clint sighed. _

"_Because I'm me, now just come out so I can see you" Clint said. She didn't say anything and for a moment he thought she had hung up. "Kat?" That's when he felt a tap on his shoulder which caused him to swing around. There she was, phone pressed to her ear. They both pulled the phones down at the same time as their eyes stayed on each other. _

"_If you were followed I'm going to kick your ass" Katie said before walking around him. Clint smiled lightly before turning and following her. "So I can assume that since you're not cuffing me, that coming here wasn't to drag me back to the farm" _

"_No" Clint replied now unable to take his eyes off of her. After not seeing her for so long it seem that's all he wanted to do at the moment. He didn't necessarily need to talk, but he just wanted to look at her. "You know why I'm here Kat" _

"_I thought I did" Katie replied looking up to the brightly lit Eiffel Tower. "I thought I knew a lot of things, but it turns out I didn't" she glanced over to him. "I thought Shield was the good guys, I thought you would always be there for me-" _

"_I am always-" _

"_Stop!" Katie snapped holding up her hands toward him. "This, us being her isn't about us" _

"_Then what is it about?" Clint asked turning to face her. "Why did you call me?" _

"_Because the man you're in charge of protecting" Katie said turning to face him as well. "Dr. Heisenberg, he's not who you think he is. He's former Nazi and possibly current HYDRA" Clint looked down to her for a moment before tearing away from her gaze. "Did you just hear what I said?" _

"_Yeah I did" Clint said turning back to her. "I know who he is Kat" Katie's eyes widened at that response. _

The snap of the director's fingers snapped Clint from his thoughts. Clint cleared his throat and turned to Fury who didn't look none to happy.

"Am I boring you Agent Barton?" Fury asked angrily.

"No sir" Clint said standing up a little straighter, his hands clasp behind his back. He'd been standing there for nearly fifteen minutes listening to the director ream him for the screw up under his watch in Paris.

"Agent Barton, I assumed after all this time you would be ready to assimilate back into your position" Fury said placing himself in front of Clint. "Was I wrong in my assumption?"

"It was a glitch sir" Clint replied. "Glitches happen."

"Well it was a pretty damn big glitch that got Dr. Heisenberg shot in shoulder by some assailant no one got a look at" Fury snapped. "So tell me how does this person take out two damn good agents, shoot the doctor in the shoulder and scale a hotel without being seen?" Clint didn't say anything knowing there was nothing he could say that would appease the director at this moment. "You know I was surprised when you chose to come back. I mean I'm glad you came back but considering the alternative, I was surprised by your decision" Fury said turning and walking to sit behind his desk. "I think I wanted to believe that you knew that Shield is where you belonged, that coming back here was the best for you, but I'm not so sure now"

"What does that mean?" Clint asked. The director didn't say anything before initiating the privacy function of his office, and initiating the hologram. Clint turned as pictures appear on screen of him alone standing by the Eiffel Tower. The image changed to him talking to the young boy and the next was him talking to Katie. Clint turned back to the director his eyes darkened with anger. "So you do have eyes on me?"

"Are you really surprised?" The director asked. "I mean look at this from my view point. One of my best agents runs away with a woman hell bent of taking down my agency and then that agent just comes back as if none of it happen. And then on your first leading mission since being back your charge is shot by a ghost apparently. To top it all off for one whole hour you went off line. Wouldn't you be a little suspicious?" Clint turned back to the image of him and Katie.

"Why didn't you take her?" Clint asked. "She was right there, you could've made the grab"

"I thought about it. I really did" Fury said with a shake of his head. "But I had to decide if my gains were worth more than my loses" Clint turned. "I need you here Agent Barton, now maybe more than ever" Nick stood to his feet and walked around to Clint. "So I chose to let her go. She's been keeping quiet, well except for shooting my scientist. But it's only proving one thing. She doesn't have anything. After all this time of digging she still has nothing." he looked over to the screen. "I let her go because she finally has something to occupy her time"

"What if she does find something sir?" Clint asked. "I mean you know she's not going to let this go, and someone with that much drive could inevitably be a threat"

"I will worry about that bridge when I get to it" The director said reaching down and picking up a tablet from his desk. "I will accept your incident report even though I'm sure ninety five percent of it is fabricated" he glanced back up to Clint. "I have eyes on you Agent Barton and will continue to have eyes on you until I feel that I can trust you again" Clint simply nodded in response. "Alright, you're dismissed" Clint turned to leave but stopped short of the door. "Was there something else?"

"Yes" Clint said turning back to the director. "Does it not bother you that Heisenberg was brought in? C'mon sir, progressive thinking or not that man is still the enemy and we're letting him in the front door"

"Barton I thought you were aware of the blurred lines of Shield. We accept any intel we can get as long as it can be used. Do not think for a second that all of Heisenberg's activities aren't being monitored." The director placed the tablet back on his desk. "The doctor is a caged bird Agent Barton and we're watching every move he makes"

"You're in charge, sir" Clint said with a slight shake of his head before turning and leaving the director's office. Fury stood there for a moment before leaning against his desk and looking over to the images of Katie and Clint both staring at the other with a look he hoped wouldn't bite him in the ass later. He turned when the sound of his phone ringing snapped him from his thoughts.

"Fury" The director spoke. The words told to him made him close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. "When you say missing-" he listened a little longer not hearing what he wanted to head. "That's what I thought." he let out a sigh. "No, Rick Mason is a big boy, and there is usually a method to his madness, he'll pop up soon"

Clint walked down the hall from the director's office. He wanted so badly to just fall back into his life. To just be the archer who aimed where he was told without questions asked. But he was a fool to think that was even possible. Clint stepped inside the elevator letting his back lean against the back wall as he closes his eyes and his mind once again wanders.

"_What do you mean you know?" Katie asked angrily. "It's been a year and a half, they couldn't have brainwashed you that quickly" she shook her head. "Who am I kidding, this is Shield. This conversation is over" she turned and walked away, but Clint wasn't going to let her go that easily. He was in step right behind her. _

"_Will you listen to me" Clint said before reaching out and grabbing her arm. He didn't expect for her to jerk out of his grasp and turn to him with a look of utter betrayal. _

"_I'm tired of listening to you Agent Barton" Katie said his name sounding like poison on her lips. "I can't believe I thought-" she shook her head again before turning, but he once again grabbed her arm. "Will you let me go!" _

"_No, I won't!" Clint snapped. '"I love you Kat and you love me, I know you do and I won't let you go" _

""_It doesn't matter because you live in hell and you work for Lucifer" Katie hissed in anger. "It doesn't matter because when I offered you a way out you threw it back in my face._

"_You want to yell at me, you want to hate me, fine, but I can't let you go, I refuse to" _

"_It's too late for that" Katie said once again snatching away from him. "You let me go a long time ago, so how about we do ourselves a favor and just stop torturing ourselves with fantasy." she turned and walked off once again. _

"_I didn't let you go!" Clint called but she didn't stop walking. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!" and that did it. Those words made her feet stop moving. Katie stood there for just a moment before turning back to Clint and they stood there letting his words sink in. He didn't know what to expect when suddenly she stalked back over to him. Without a word she slapped him in the arm. _

"_What the hell did you do!?" she snapped. _

Clint's eyes opened to see Natasha standing in front of him with a quirked eyebrow. He stood up straight from the wall and scratched the back of his head to turn away from her searching gaze.

"You look like shit" Natasha said and Clint sent a glare to her. "So I hear Paris was anything but quick and easy." Clint stepped aside, not saying a word. "There is only one thing that you're tight lipped about these days. She was there wasn't she?" Clint gave her a sideways glance and that was all the answer she needed. "Wow, after all this time the ghost makes an appearance. Wait, is she the one who shot the doctor?"

"Discussion of missions outside the proper channels and regulated parties is strictly prohibited Agent Romanoff" Clint mutters and Natasha just rolls her eyes. For some reason, he'd been force to take a couple of the agency ethics courses again and they were as boring then as they were all those years ago.

"Like that wasn't an answer" she replied. "What has she been doing this whole time?"

"What do you think?" Clint asked looking up to the decreasing digits of the elevator, wishing the doors would just open already.

"Still looking for big foot" Natasha said with a slight chuckle. "You'd think after all this time and coming up with nothing, she'd give up already"

"One would think" Clint said as the door finally opened and he stepped off quickly.

"Got some place to be?" Natasha asked following behind him trying to keep up with his large strides.

"Yeah, anywhere but here. I'm tired and would like to sleep" Clint rattled off over his shoulder.

"So I can count you out on this rescues mission I've just been handed?" Natasha asked and Clint stopped turning to her. "Pirates have hijacked one of our launch ships. The director wants a team to go take it back"

"The director wants me on this mission after I screwed up the last one?" Clint asked no one missing the skepticism in his tone.

"I'm in charge of team building on this one. " Natasha replied. "I was just about to interrupt the Captain's morning jog to induct him on this trip" she saw the hesitation in his eyes. "C'mon you could use the distraction."

"There's not a big enough distraction in the world Nat" Clint said with a shake of his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've been busting my ass trying to prove that I'm here and I just found out that none of it matters, so what's the point?" And with that Clint turned and walked away heading out the doors. He found his bike and slid on his sun glasses, climbing on top and peeling out of there like a bat out of hell. Clint sped down the highway only partly focused on the road ahead. The other part of his mind went back to the memory that wouldn't let him go.

_Clint looked down into Katie's expectant eyes. He imagined this moment for the longest time and now that it was here, he was nervous. _

"_You had your way of getting answers and I had mine" Clint finally spoke. _

"_Please don't tell me-" Katie shook her head as she realized what he was telling her. "You placed yourself in the belly of the beast?" Clint simply nodded and Katie turned her back to him as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You shouldn't have done that" _

"_Excuse me?" Clint asked moving around her to meet her eyes. "I just told you that I risked everything-" _

"_Exactly!" Katie snapped. "What you're doing is even more dangerous then what I'm doing. If you get caught-" _

"_I won't." _

"_But if you do they will make you disappear" Katie said before punching him once again in the shoulder. "You're such an idiot you know that, you-" Her words were cut short by Clint's lips smashing into hers in a kiss that takes her breath away. Soon hands were roaming, exploring, getting reacquainted, and neither cared that they were standing in the middle of a public area surrounded by people. In that moment it seemed no one else even existed, but all great things come to an end. _

_Katie jerked away, pulling from Clint's grasp and the man looked understandably confused. "You can't just kiss me and magically erase the last year and a half of me wondering what the hell about me was so easy to walk away from. You-" she pointed an accusing finger at the archer. "You did what I promised myself wouldn't happen again. You broke my heart Bart" Clint reached out to her, but she backed away. "Apparently your intentions were noble, but it doesn't change where we are right now. You on one side of the line and me on the other" _

"_That's not true. I'm on your side, I will always be on your side" Clint said. "I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you this whole time, but if I wanted to make this work then it had to be believable" _

"_It was" Katie said. "I really believed. Hell I memorized every word you told me." she let out a tired sigh. "Look right now this isn't important" _

"_If this isn't important, then what is?" Clint asked. _

"_Finding out just how deep this thing goes" Katie replied. "That's what happens now" _

Clint pulled up in front of his destination wanting to be anywhere but here. He slid off his glasses and looked up to the tall building.

"Just get it over with" he muttered to himself before forcing his feet to move toward the building. The elevator ride seemed to take forever, Clint was sort of glad for the delay. He wasn't ready for this, but the truth is he doesn't think he could ever get ready for what he was about to the doors slid open, he stepped out but didn't see anyone. He was almost wishing that no one was home so he could get the hell out of there. "Hello?" he called his voice carrying a bit. When there was no immediate reply, he simply turned back to get on the elevator.

"Am I to be questioned now?" a voice said from behind him. Clint turned to see Tony walking over to pour himself a glass of water. "That's why you're here isn't it, to get my statement of what happened in Paris?"

"No, that's not why I'm here Stark" Clint says before letting out a deep breath. It was the only way to keep his annoyance in check. "That night, she called me" Tony looked over to him with a furrowed brow. "She wanted to meet"

"You're lying" Tony said before turning away to take a sip of his water. "There is no way that after all this time, the first person she would want to see is you. You're the enemy"

"No, I'm the ally" Clint says and Tony shakes his head. "Whether you believe it or not, I did what I did for her"

"Right, I get it. I stomp on Pepper's heart all the time just so she knows I love her" Tony bit back. "Why are you here again?" Clint looked down to his watch.

"Because we need to be in your lab in exactly five minutes" Clint said bringing his eyes back to Tony.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Because that's where she wants us to be" Clint says and so the men just stand there for a moment. "I did see her, and we talked"

"About?"

"The next move" Clint replied.

_Katie turned to Clint before feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She looked around not seeing much. _

"_Look, whether you believe it or not you are being watch" Katie says turning back to Clint. " So I have to go" she turned to leaved but Clint once again grabbed her arm. "Bart, please just-" she turned back to him. "Look in three days I will contact you." _

"_Ok" Clint says still not ready to let go. _

"_But you're going to have to be with Tony" Katie said and she didn't miss the look on his face. "It shouldn't take long to figure out a play for all of this, and when I do I'm going to need you two on the same page" _

"_Fine, but I can't promise at some point I won't hit him" Clint replied and Katie nodded. _

"_And I can't promise that at some point I won't hit you for hitting him" Katie said stepping away from him. "Three days, at 01500 exactly" Clint nodded and watched as she turned away from him. _

"_Kat!" he called and she stopped turning back to him. "You're not alone in this, know that" _

"_Prove it" Katie replied with a slight smirk before turning and disappearing into the night. _

Clint and Tony rode the elevator a very uncomfortable silence. Neither wanted to break it, but Tony being Tony just couldn't stay quiet for too long.

"How did she seem?" he asked and Clint glanced over to him.

"The same" Clint responded with a shrug. "She cut her hair like super short, but it looks nice" The doors slid open and both men walked off to see Matthew standing with a welders helmet his head and a blow torch in his hand, as he bounced his head to the music that blared through the speakers.

"Music off!" Tony yelled. Once the music went off, Matthew's head lifted to see the two men. "You want to work down here and play music ridiculously loud, fine, only one rule. It has to be music, not someone screaming through the speakers"

"What is he doing here?" Matthew asked sitting the blow torch down and lifting the mask from his face.

"Look, Matt-"

"My name's Matthew" the young man interrupted as he crosses the room to stand in front of him."Why is the bastard who sold my sister out not bleeding out of some orifice in his body right about now?"

"He has her mouth" Clint says looking over to Tony.

"Yes he does, but I don't think anyone could top my kitten's potty mouth" Tony says walking around Matthew. "Jarvis, any calls?"

"No sir" Jarvis replied before Tony turned to Clint.

"It's three o'clock hawk boy, where is she?" Tony asked.

"What's going on?" Matthew asked looking between Tony and Clint.

"Agent hawk here said that back in Paris he met with Katie and that she was going to call here at this time to tell us what she's found out" Tony says looking down to his watch. "So either my punctual kitten is late or our agent friend here is lying" Both Tony and Matthew look over to Clint waiting for an answer, but it would seem none was needed.

"Sir, I have an incoming video call for you" Jarvis spoke and they all turned as the screen changed and soon appeared a familiar face.

"Hmm" Katie says leaning into the screen. "Tony's gained weight, Matthew seriously needs a hair cut and Bart looks constipated" she sat back and just chuckled. "Glad to see much hasn't changed"

"You forgot to mention your hair cut makes you look like a dude" Matthew said stepping forward. "It's good to see I still have a sister, just wished I could've gotten a goodbye or I don't know a check for my heartache and anguish"

"I gave you the next best thing" Katie replied looking over to Tony. "Someone I knew would look after you. Plus why would I say goodbye when I knew I would be seeing you again you dork"

"Not to interrupt the sibling squabbling, but where the hell have you been?" Tony asked and Katie let out a sigh. "Matthew's been worried sick"

"Please, you're the one who almost hired that shady private eye to find her" Matthew said before turning to Katie. "This guy's business card was printed on the back of somebody else's business card"

"I'm fine as you can see. I've been all over searching for the truth since Shield isn't in the truth telling business" Katie said looking over the camera. "Get me as close as you can"

"Where are you Kat?" Clint asked and Katie looked back down to the screen. "Why did you want us here?"

"Jarvis can you pull the information I downloaded?" Katie asked.

"Certainly Katie" Jarvis replied and soon a dated picture of a short man in a blue lab coat and red bow tie appeared on the screen.

"Meet Arnim Zola, born in Switzerland where he became the world's leading biochemist" Katie said. "The good doctor had questionable methods of researching that only appealed to one group of people. The Nazi, who at the time were working very closely to another group."

"Hydra" Clint said and Katie nodded.

"Aren't those the big bad wolves Cap was up against back in his day?" Tony asked and Katie nodded. "I thought Shield wiped them out"

"They weren't wiped out, just went into deep, deep hiding. It's a brilliant tactic. Let everyone think you're extinct while you're secretly making moves in the dark" Katie said with a slight shake of her head.

"Ok, I'm lost" Matthew said looking around to see if he was the only one not following along. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Heisenberg, back in Paris told me that Shield wants him for knowledge he learned from his teacher" Katie said and the image changed to show Zola standing next to a young man. "Guess who his teacher was?"

"Wait, so let me get this straight" Tony says trying to make sense of the information. "Shield is now employing a possible Hydra member to help design their latest project"

"It's a theory, but I'm thinking yes" Katie says. "All of Zola's findings are kept under a pretty tight lock and key which is proving even a little difficult for me." She shook her head. "I believe Warhol may be outsmarting his teacher, but whatever. It's not impossible, but I don't have the time to devote all my attention to it."

"So you want me and Jarvis to take a crack at it?" Tony asked and Katie smiled.

"I did, but I'm starting to think it won't work" Katie said and he looked over to her confused. "Accessing these files externally will take way too much time, but if you get inside-"

"You want me to do it?" Clint asked and they looked to him. "I'm sure we all can agree that I am the least qualified hacker in this entire room"

"I agree, but you can get Matt inside." Katie says turning to her brother. "With Tony in your ear you can download Shield's files on Zola so I can see what he was working on that they're gonna use for Insight"

"So you want me to walk into a government agency and hack into their system, steal some files and walk right back out?" Matthew asked.

"Pretty much" Katie says with a shrug. "Look, this is dangerous and it's probably idiotic to some extent, but I don't trust anyone as much as I trust you three. Look you don't want to do this, fine I still love you" None of them said anything probably trying to decide if going through with this was a good idea. "It's your decision, and whatever you decide I won't love you any less, but I got to go."

"Can you at least tell us where you're going?" Tony asked.

"Wanna know the truth, I have no idea" Katie said. "All I have is coordinates"

"And you're going by yourself?" Clint asked taking a few steps closer. "I don't like you doing this, not by yourself"

"Good thing I'm not by myself then" Katie replied with a wink. "Got to go boys, I'm about to face something I wanted to avoid for as long as possible. I will talk to you soon" and with that the video ended. The three men stood there for a few moments not saying a word.

"Boats!" Matthew yelled startling both Tony and Clint who turned to him. "She would always say she would avoid all boats for as long as she could" Clint and Tony just stare at the young man. "I'm sorry are we still moping about the fact that she's probably shacking up with somebody who isn't either of you or are we doing this?"

"I swear you're like her, but with a penis" Clint says with a shake of his head before looking to Tony.

"You think we can pull this off?" Tony asks and Clint simply shrugs. "Well that's enough for me" he looks over to Matthew who seems to be staring off into space. "What are you thinking about so hard over there Mattie?"

"A story, a really good story that would be believable enough to get me into Shield" Matthew said scratching the back of his head.

"Why don't you leave the story up to us and tomorrow you just play the part" Tony says and Matthew simply shakes his head before leaving the lab.

"You think he can handle this?" Clint asks looking over to Tony.

"Matthew is a very complex individual, who is extremely simple" Tony said turning back to the screen.

"That makes no sense" Clint replied.

"Exactly" Tony said. "Jarvis replay that video for me and clean up as much background noise as you can" Tony glanced over to Clint who was still standing here. "Did you want me to walk you to the door or something?"

"Bite me Stark" Clint said before turning and heading for the elevator as well. Clint stepped on the elevator and the last thing he saw before the doors slide close was Katie's smiling face appearing on the screen.

Katie closed her laptop and jerk forward as the truck stopped. She glared over to the driver who simply shrugged.

"Where did you get your license, from the bottom of of a cereal box?" Katie asked as she slid her laptop into her bag. She let her eyes wander over the open water, one thought in mind. "I don't see anything" she looked over to the man in the driver's seat who simply chuckled. " Let me guess, launch ships are placed in the center of the ocean?" she looked back out to the water and sighed. "This is going to be a long trip isn't it?"

"You can say that again, but at least you'll have some attractive company" he said giving her a wide smile. Katie simply rolled her eyes before stepping out of the car.

"You're still such a perv, you know that don't you Mason" Katie said walking to the trunk. "I'm glad to see some things will never change"

"It's been six years since we met, I'm sure some things have change" he replied walking along side her. "Now let's go find ourselves some pirates on a hijacked ship"

"Argh" Katie said flatly.

* * *

**A/N: Second chapter, done and done. Soo, seeds are planted and Katie's about to run into some familiar faces on this launch ship. Then there's Rick Mason (Google him, he exists...in the marvel world anyway.), who is going to help change up the story a bit. You'll see what I mean in later chapters. I know a whole lot didn't happen in this chapter, but its one of those chapters that helps things move along. Next chapter will have action and things will start to unravel at Shield. **

**But until then...**

**Feed the author...I'm starving for your thoughts ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3 is up and there's a lot that's going to happen in this chapter. Prepare for a lot and an ending that's going to leave you wanting more...or at least I hope. Remember...**

**Read it. Enjoy it. Review it.**

* * *

We all come close to just giving up. Katie was no exception to this rule. There were many times when she'd been digging and would come up with nothing that she just wanted to say screw and run back with her tail between her legs. Though Katie's saving grace was the voice of her father that seemed to know what she would need to hear, even all these years later. But now, Katie found something worth holding onto. It was the first solid lead in all this time and it felt like she was actually getting somewhere. The only issue she had currently was the mode of transportation. She heard a light chuckle and looked over to an old friend.

"What's so funny?" Katie asked and Rick simply gestured to her. Katie simply looked down to herself, only seeing the bright red life jacket that she wore around her neck. She shook her head and looked back over to the man. "Excuse me for not wanting to drown to death"

"Tell me bookworm, how is that a woman whose taking on a government agency prone to so many fears?" Rick asked with a chuckle. "You're suppose to be fearless, that's the only way you win."

"Being fearless is impossible" Katie says turning back to the open water. "Now striving to be fearless is doable." she glanced back over to Rick. "That's how you win" he simply gave her a slight nod. "And if you keep calling me bookworm I will toss you off this boat" she heard him chuckle again. "You'd think after all this time you would find another nickname."

_Why she was carrying so many books, even she didn't completely know. Especially since all Shield documents had been converted to digital files a while ago. Apparently the tech back then was a little unreliable and since there weren't any major crisis that needed her attention, she would have to make sure all files were converted correctly. _

_She broke a mirror, and that's what she was blaming all of her bad luck on today. There was this suck ass assignment and now it was the idiot who just ran into her causing her to knock all the books from her arms. _

"_You have to be fuc-" she stopped remembering the meeting she recently had with one of the HR people about her excessive profanity use. She looked down to the pile of books on the ground and just let out a frustrated sigh before bringing her eyes to the culprit. It was a man who seemed a little older than her, dark hair and an annoying smile now plastered on his face. She waved a hand in front of his face. _

"_What are you doing?" the man asked. _

"_Making sure you're not blind, so when I hit you no one will be offended" Katie replied with a shake of her head before bending down to pick up the books. _

"_You know it's your own fault you know bookworm" the man replied bending down as well to help her pick them up. "I mean who still owns a book" Katie sent a glare over to the man who just blamed her for him bumping into into her. _

"_Everything alright over here" a voice asked, a little annoyance laced in. They both looked up to see Clint staring down to them. _

"_Yeah, this jackass likes to bump into people and then blame them for it" Katie says snatching the rest of her books from the man's hands before standing to her feet. _

"_Still the charmer I see Mason" Clint says and the man simply chuckles as he stands to his feet as well. "Maybe you should watch where you're going next time" Rick quirked an eyebrow before looking over to Katie a smirk coming to his face as he turns back to Clint who simply shakes his head. _

"_Mason?" Katie asked looking over to the man. "You're Rick Mason?" _

"_The one and only, you've heard of me?" Rick asked his voice growing smoother. _

"_Sort of. I've heard of your father and now I think I know why you're such a dick" Katie said before looking over to Clint. "I gotta go, I'll see you later" she looked back to Rick. "You bump into me again and we're going to put all that training into practice, got it?" _

"_Who are you?" Rick asked now truly interested in the woman he stumbled into. _

"_Just a lab tech" Katie said before turning and scurrying off. _

"You sure you're ready for this?" Rick asked his voice taking on rarely heard serious tone. Katie looked back over to him. "We could turn back, head some place exotic and just sit on a beach somewhere drinking out of cups with tiny umbrellas" Katie turned at the sound of a distant fog horn and that's when she saw it. "It's your call bookworm, what are we doing?"

"We're too far to turn back now" Katie said looking over the launch ship. "It's time to find out the truth once and for all." They both looked up to the sky at the sound of a plane. "That must be the clean up crew"

"That means we're going to be everybody's enemy on that ship" Rick said and Katie glanced over to him. "Hey, I'm always game for a little adventure, I'm just making sure you are"

"I wish we had the time to tell you why you probably don't need an answer that question" Katie says standing to her feet and walking over to the black duffel bag that sat in the middle of the boat. "And to correct you, I'm going to be everyone's enemy, no one knows you're here. If I turn out to be wrong about all of this, I want you to be able to come out of this clean"

"You almost sound like you care about me" Rick says walking up beside Katie.

"I still don't know what to make of you Mason" Katie replied with a shake of her head. "You were Fury's right hand for a long time, what's changed now?"

"You doubt my loyalty?" Rick asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I doubt everything about you" Katie replied before looking back down to the bag. "Which is why if this little union bites me in the ass I am going to hurt you in the worst way possible"

"Is it wrong that I'm turned on by that?" Rick asked and Katie simply playfully nudged him in the shoulder.

Once the boat got close enough to the ship, Rick cut off it's engine letting the boat float above the water. Rick lifted a crossbow which he pointed to the side of the ship before shooting sending a zip line flying over the side. He pulled to make sure it was secure, before turning to Katie and holding open his arm.

"I knew I was going to get some action at some point" Rick said as Katie wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"How did I get stuck with you?" Katie asked with a shake of her head.

"Luck" Rick replied before pressing a release on the crossbow causing him and Katie to go flying toward the ship. They both eased up the side of the ship, spotting an armed man walking back and forth on the other side. They quietly climbed over the side of the ship, making sure to stay unseen. Rick nudges his head to the right and point for Katie to go to the left. Katie nodded before moving along the ship, keeping her eyes on the pirate who hadn't spotted her yet. She stopped, her back pressed against the wall when another pirate walked over to the other. There was a noise and both men turned their heads in the direction. Only one went to check it out while the other stayed at his post. Once the man's back was turned Katie quietly eased out of hiding moving just quick enough to wrap an arm around the man's neck. He struggled of course throwing his elbow back into Katie's stomach. Katie grimaced slightly her hold on the man loosening but only enough for her to jerk her knee up in to his back. Soon she felt him grow limp in her arms and she let him fall to the floor. She placed a hand on her stomach, before turning at the sound of footsteps. Her hands rose in a fighting stance but stopped when she saw that it was Rick.

"You alright?" He asked and Katie simply nodded. "What are we looking for?"

"The reason a bunch of lab techs and an agent are on a launch ship" Katie said reaching into her bag and pulling out her tablet, pulling up the schematics of the ship. "Command is this way" Katie says pointing behind Rick before bringing her eyes back to him. "You're not coming with me, are you?"

"Whatever team they have working this-"

"Will stop whoever is hijacking this ship" Katie replied. "You're not supposed to be here and if they see you how will you explain yourself?"

"Luck" Rick said with a smirk before walking past Katie. Katie turned watching him leave before turning and heading for the command center of the ship. She slipped the tablet back into her bag, before running down the deck. Her feet slid to a stop when she looked up as she spotted agents parachuting aboard. She quickly pinned her back to the wall, hiding herself in the shadows. Once the coast was clear, she continued finding the entrance she'd been looking for. Soon the sound of gun fire could be heard, but she didn't stop, not until she heard a voice.

"Hey you!" An accented voice yelled and Katie stopped raising her hands and turning around to see the man's hand gun pointed right at her.

"Hey, I'm like seriously lost" Katie said taking a step toward the man.

"Don't move!" he ordered and Katie stopped. "Where did you come from?"

"Not your biggest problem" Katie replied before kicking up her leg tossing it right into his hand causing his gun to fly out of his hand. She sent the next kick into his stomach, before jumping up and grabbing some low hanging pipes and sending both feet right into his stomach knocking the wind right out of him. Katie fell back on her feet before reaching down and picking up his gun. "I might need this" she muttered glancing over to the unconscious man before turning and continuing her trek. Once she found the room, she noticed the door slightly open. She quietly pushed it open surprised to find the room occupied.

"This is awkward" Natasha said bent over typing something on one of the computers. "I was wondering if you were going to find me"

"I doubt that" Katie said and Natasha stood up straight meeting the Katie's gaze and the barrel of a gun. "So Black Widow, while everyone's here trying to rescue hostages, you're here. Doing what exactly?"

"Don't be stupid Banks" Natasha said and she noticed the grip on Katie's gun tighten and Natasha lifted her hands as she took a step forward. "I'm sorry, I guess that's still a touchy subject"

"Do not move" Katie said looking over the woman's shoulder to see a flash drive sticking from the computer as something is downloading. "What are you downloading?"

"That's classified information" Natasha says taking another slight step forward. "How did you get on this ship?"

"Change the subject, good tactic, but I'm not biting" Katie replies looking up to the screens as the files are downloaded. "Saving Shield Intel?" she looked back over to Natasha. "Must be something awfully important if Nicky entrusted you to do it"

"We don't have time for this, you're not going to shoot me so put down the gun" Natasha said taking another step forward. The moment she did, Katie shot a bullet in the spot right in front of her left foot.

"I beg to differ, I do want to shoot you, but at the moment it's not a necessity" Katie replied just as the front entrance burst open as Steve came flying in, knocking a man unconscious in the process. He lifted his head to the women, his eyes growing wide at the sight of Katie.

"Katie, what-" he stood to his feet looking around the room, his eyes settling on the computer files that are being downloaded. "What's going on here?" he looked back to Katie. "What are you doing here?"

"Better question, what the hell are you doing here?" Katie asked looking over to Steve before turning to Natasha. "Captain America Shield's pirate rounder now?"

"Put down the gun!" Natasha said her annoyance growing. She took another step, this one stopped by Steve catching her arm. Natasha looked over to him confused before moving aside. Steve moved forward, blocking Katie's gun from Natasha.

"Do you know what you being here could do?" Steve asked seriously. "These are peoples lives and you being here could've jeopardized the entire mission." He took another step toward her, the gun now touching his chest. "Now drop the gun Katie" Katie looked at him for a moment before looking over to Natasha just as she pocketed the flash drive. "Katie-" Katie tossed the gun aside before taking a step toward Natasha. Steve quickly grabbed her, holding her back. But everything stopped when they heard what sounded like a clink of metal. They turned to see the man they thought was unconscious now standing and tossing a grenade to the floor. No one stopped to do anything but turn and run. Katie felt one of Steve's arm's wrap around her waist practically carrying her with him as Natasha appears beside her, all of them jumping through the window just as the grenade exploded. They all sat, leaning against the wall out of breath.

"That one was my fault" Katie said.

"You're damn right" Steve said looking over to her. They sat there for a moment longer before Katie jumped to her feet and ran out of the room.

"Damnit!" Natahsa said patting her pockets as she stands to her feet. "She has the flash!" without another word the assassin went running out of the room after Katie, Steve right behind her.

"Natasha!" Steve called but it was no use.

Katie ran as fast as her feet would take her until she found herself back on deck. She stopped looking down both sides, before picking one and just running. She would've gone until she couldn't run anymore, but a familiar face appeared in front of her catching her in his arm.

"Whoa there worm" Rick says looking down to Katie. "We won, pirates are gone, hostages saved"

"Yeah, but I have a pissed off Widow on my ass trying to get this back" Katie says holding up the flash.

"Katie!" Natasha yelled and they both turned as assassin and Steve ran over to them. "Give me the flash"

"That's not going to happen" Katie says about to turn and run, but Rick caught her. She looked over to him confused as his eyes just looked to her with a slight look of guilt.

"You were supposed to keep her busy, not lead her here!" Natasha called and both Rick and Katie looked over to her. Rick reached forward snatching the flash from Katie's hand and tossing it to Natasha.

"She found this ship all on her own" Rick called back before turning back to Katie who was now struggling to pull from his grasp. "I'm sorry worm, I only fight for one side"

"Remember what I said back in the boat?" Katie asked leaning in a little closer. "About that hurting you in the worse way possible if you crossed me" she jerked up her knee hitting him right in the groin. Rick grimaced in pain as he released Katie and stumbled backwards. "You turned on now you son of a bitch!" and with that she turned running before jumping over the side of the ship.

"Katie!" Steve called running and peering over the side trying to spot her, but seeing nothing in the dark waters. He let out a slight growl before turning to Natasha who was checking with Rick. "What the hell is going on?" Steve turned to Rick. "Who the hell are you?" Rick simply held up a finger before turning, his hands going to sooth his sore privates. Steve turned back to Natasha. "If she's dead-"

"She's not" Natasha interrupted. "It's water, she can swim" she grabbed Rick's arm and began pulling him. "We have to go" Rick let out a slight squeal as the woman jerked his arm forward.

It wasn't until Clint and Matthew stood at the entrance of Shield, did Clint start to really doubt their plan.

"You shouldn't have worn the suit" Clint said looking over to the man who wore a black, tailored business suit. Matthew looked down to his clothes as he straightened his tie.

"Not a lot of people can pull off this look" Matthew says with a sly smile as the head for the elevator. "I one of the few who can"

"So you know the story?" Clint asked as they stood waiting for the elevator.

"Will you stop asking, Tony already beat that damn story into my head at the crack of dawn" Matthew replied. "I know it, even if I do think it's stupid"

"It's not stupid if it's believable" Clint replied as the door slid open and they both stepped inside. "Look, just follow the script and we can get out of this easy." The two rode the elevator in silence when suddenly the doors slid open and in walked a very angry looking Steve. He barely glanced over to Clint and Matthew before turning to face the doors. Matthew wore a huge grin as he turned to Clint.

"That's-" He pointed at Steve who still dawned the full on Captain America outfit from the mission.

"Yeah" Clint muttered reaching over and pushing the man's hand down. "Problem's with the mission, Captain?" Steve looked over to Clint and shook his head.

"You could say that" Steve replied. He looked over to Clint as if there was more he wanted to say, but simply shook it off before turning back to the doors. "I didn't expected the unexpected" the doors finally slid open and Steve stormed out toward the director's office. Clint and Matthew followed, but stopped once Steve went inside slamming the door behind him.

"You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?" Steve snapped as he walked over to the director who sat at his desk.

"I didn't lie, Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours" Nick answered already expecting this visit.

"And this Agent Mason, what was his mission?" Steve asked and the director looked up to him.

"His mission was Ms. Chambers" Fury replied. "They weren't supposed to be there, but he went off line and couldn't be reached"

"What is his mission?" Steve asked. "Because from the looks of last night, I'd say he failed"

"Mason's mission was to keep an eye on Banks, that's it" The director said.

"Which you didn't feel obliged to share with her friends who haven't seen or heard from her in all this time?" Steve bit back.

"You haven't seen or heard from her by her choice" Fury said. "And I'm not obliged to do anything"

"Those hostages could've died, Nick" Steve replied his voice portraying only seriousness in that moment.

"I sent a great soldier in there to make sure that didn't happen" Fury countered spinning his chair to meet the man's eyes.

"Soldiers trust each other, that makes it an army, not a bunch of guys just shooting each other" Steve retorted not backing down from this.

"Last time I trusted someone I lost an eye" Fury replied, a slight annoyance in his voice as he stood to his feet. They stood there a moment in silence letting the director's revelation swirl around the room. "Look I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything"

"I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own" Steve pressed as he took a slight step forward. "And I can't lead a mission against someone I'm not even sure is guilty"

"You weren't sent there for Ms. Chambers Captain, so whatever course of action occurred wasn't planned, but I'll deal with that later" Nick said. " In this agency you are going to have to get used to compartmentalization. Nobody spills all the secrets, because nobody knows them all."

"Except for you, huh?"

The director shook his head slightly and stood to his full height before looking back over to Steve.

"You're wrong about me, I do share" Fury countered. "I'm nice like that" without another word spoke the director walked around his desk and headed for the door. Steve not needing an invitation followed. The director only stopped when he spotted Clint and Matthew standing outside his door. "We had a meeting" Fury's eyes turned to Matthew. "One I'm very interested in getting to, but something has come up and I'm going to have to postpone for a later time"

"Is everything alright, sir?" Clint asked looking between the director and Steve, neither looking very happy.

"Everything is fine Agent Barton" Fury replied but turned at the sound of Steve clearing his throat. "Actually, come with me" Clint looked confused but nodded. The director turned to Matthew. "You wait in my office" he turned about to leave but stopped and turned back to Matthew. "And don't touch anything"

"Uh, yes sir" Matthew said with a nod before watching the director turn and walk away, Steve right behind him. Matthew quickly caught Clint's arm. "What do I do now?"

"What you came here to do" Clint whispered back before turning to catch up.

Matthew stood there nervous for a moment, looking around the hall as people moved about before turning and walking into the office closing the door behind him. The first thing he noticed was the awesome view that seemed to overlook all of DC. He let out a whistle as he pulled the comlink from his pocket and placed it in his ear.

"Link, checking in" Matthew spoke.

"_Link as in missing link?_" Tony questioned. "_You have unlimited possibilities for a code name and you pick Link?"_

"Hey, Iron Man, let's not debate on dumbass code names, shall we?" Matthew replied. "I'm in the director's office, alone"

"_Nicky's computer?_" Tony answered. "You're aiming high aren't you. You know what happened to the last person caught hacking his computer, don't you?"

"I thought the whole point of this was not to make me nervous, and when you say stuff like that I start to freak out" Matthew said taking a seat at the chair in front of the director's desk. "Ok, I'm sitting"

"_I see you_" Tony says from his spot in the lab as he stares up to the screen that's showing the hacked video feed into the director's office. He swiped a few files on the holo before splitting the screens. "_You're a go_" Tony stood and watched as one screen showed the man still sitting, while the other showed him standing and walking behind the director's desk. "_There should be a port-_" Before Tony could finish Matthew had found the flash port. "_There I guess._"

"What next?" Matthew asked.

"_Once the bug is implanted we should have access to all of Shield's files"_ Tony says picking up a small tennis ball and tossing it around. _"So Mattie, let ask you something. Do you think it's weird that I haven't asked Pepper to marry me yet?_"

"Now is the time you want to have this conversation?" Matthew asked. "I'm seconds away from probably being arrested and tossed into a very small cell and you want to talk about relationships?"

"_I just thought since we're just waiting here-" _

"You're an idiot Tony." Matthew said watching the status bar loading. "And to answer your question, yes I do think it's weird that you haven't asked Pepper to marry you, but then again there are a lot of things I think are weird about you"

"_Like?" _

"Your fascination with my sister for one" Matthew replied. "It doesn't make sense, and probably answers your other question"

"_You think my feelings for Katie are keeping me from asking Pepper from marrying me?_" Tony asked.

"No, I think you're a little confused by your fascination with my sister too and you can't make any moves until you figure it out yourself" Matthew said as the bug implantation completed. "It's done, now what?"

"_Well two options, you can stay, play out this whole story or you can say fuck it and get the hell out of there_" Tony replied. He watched as Matthew stood there for a moment, but only a moment before snatching the flash and heading for the door. The moment he opened the door he stopped in his tracks, because he was blocked.

"Not the person I expected to open this door" Natasha said taking a step forward causing Matthew to step back. "You're Matthew Banks"

"Kind of going by Matthew now since the agency you worked for majorly screwed over me and my sister in the whole life department" Matthew said. "Thanks for that by the way"

"What are you doing the director's office?" Natasha asked watching him closely.

"_Be calm"_ Tony spoke in his ear. _"If she even thinks you're lying, you're not getting out of there" _

"I came with Agent Barton to speak with the director" Matthew said. "The director was busy, took Barton and told me wait here"

"What did you need to speak with the director about?" Natasha asked.

"I'm sorry, that's need to know. You understand, don't you?" Matthew asked and Natasha simply smirked.

"What's in your hand?" Natasha asked and Matthew suddenly gripped the flash in hopes of just making it disappear.

"That's also need to know" Matthew replied. "Look I have a feeling that Director Fury is going to be gone for a while, so I'm just going to-" he made to side step her, but she moved to block him. "Come back later"

"Sure" Natasha said with a nod. "As soon as you give me what's in your hand"

"_Don't do it"_ Tony whispered staring intently at the screen in front of him. "_Deny, deny, deny" _

"That's not going to work here" Matthew said and Natasha looked at him confused.

"What's not going to work?" she asked.

"Denying the truth" Matthew says finally holding up the flash drive. "You caught me. A bunch Stark prototypes I have to deliver to the boss" Natasha reached for the flash, but Matthew pulled it away. "Yeah, my ass is on the line if I don't get these delivered so no you can't have it"

"I wasn't asking" Natasha replied before reaching out and grabbing his arm about to twist it behind his back, but before she could Matthew grabbed her arm as well pushing her hard against the wall. "Now you assumed that you could take me." Natasha strained in his grasp as she tried to pull free. "Bad ninja woman" he taunted. Natasha simply lifted a heeled foot and sent into straight into Matthew's foot. "Son of a-" Matthew stumbled, but looked up just as Natasha was about to send another kick his way. He caught her foot and twisted it before pushing her aside and running out the office. Natasha jumped to her feet, limping slightly on her now sore ankle out into the hall just in time to see Matthew step on the elevator and wave to her goodbye.

Matthew stood on the elevator still trying to catch his breath.

"_I think you're completely over qualified to be my personal assistant_" Tony spoke finally. Matthew smirked. "_Where the hell did that come from?"_

"I'll tell you when I get back, now thought just find me a way out of here" Matthew said.

Tony simply nodded before turning back to his computer and typing away. It didn't take long before he looked back up to the screen.

"_You're all clear_" Tony spoke._ "Link" _

Natasha walked over to the closest phone she could find and brought it to her ear. She lifted her eyes when she didn't hear anything. She pressed a couple of buttons, but nothing. She dropped the receiver before reaching into her cell phone and glanced down to see she didn't have a signal.

Clint couldn't believe what he was looking at. Three fully weaponized helecarriers, AKA Project Insight.

"After New York I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge security analysis" Fury spoke as he looked up to the carriers. "For once we're way ahead of the curve"

"By holding a gun to everyone's head and calling it protection" Steve stated with a shake of his head and the director accepted the challenge.

"You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest Generation?" Fury said, but Steve didn't bat an eye. "You guys did some nasty stuff"

"Yeah, we compromised, sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well, but we did it so people could be free" he pointed to the carriers. "That's not freedom, that's fear." The director took a step towards the captain having heard enough.

"Shield takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. It's getting damn near past that time for you to get with that program, Cap."

"Don't hold your breath" Steve replied done with this conversation before turning and walking away.

"Do you hold hold the same opinion, Agent Barton?" Fury asked to the surprisingly quiet agent who only stood off to the side during the conversation between him and Steve.

"I get it" Clint replied with a shrug. "We've been surprised way too many times by things far stronger than us. This is a way to even out the playing field"

"You didn't answer my question" The director said before looking up to see another familiar face. "Agent Mason, now's not a good time" Clint turned to see Rick who only glanced over to the man before turning back to the director.

"I think now's the perfect time director. You try using your phone lately?" Rick asked. The director looked over to him confused before pulling out his phone and glancing down to see that he had no signal. His mind instantly we back to the last time that occurred.

"Is it her?" Fury asked looking back over to Rick.

"No sign of her sir, but according to Romanoff the brother's involved" Rick said as both he and Fury turned to Clint. The director was about to speak when suddenly his phone rang. They all looked over to it confused as the director brought it to his ear.

"This is Fury" the director answered. He looked between Rick and Clint before turning and walking from hearing range.

"What the hell is going on Mason?" Clint says turning to Rick. "Where's Matthew?"

"Gone, walked right out the front door after knocking widow on her ass" Rick replied. Clint's eyes widen as he turned slightly. "Looks like his sister taught him more than we know." he shook his head. "And here I was thinking she died a watery death" Clint turned back to Rick who simply closed his eyes and shook his head. "I wasn't supposed to say that" Clint took a step toward the man about to get some answers when the director walked back over.

"It was a glitch" Fury said and they both turned to him. "At least that's what my techs say. There doesn't seem to be any sign of fowl play"

"Director you know as well as anyone that when it comes to Banks-"

"Agent Mason, I said I'll talk to you later" Fury's voice left no room for opposition. Rick simply nodded and walked away.

"Do you have intel on Katie's location?" Clint asked turning to the director who didn't say a word. "You didn't need to grab her." It wasn't question, but a statement of fact. "That night in Paris, you didn't need to because you already had her" Fury let out a tired sigh. Today was just the day people were just going to question all of his decisions apparently. "Where is she?"

"I don't know" Fury replied honestly. Clint his head, the disbelief clear on his face. "That's the truth Agent Barton. She somehow intercepted one our communication about a hostage situation with one of our launch ships" Clint turned slight remembering Natasha's offer for him to come along on that mission. "I assigned Mason to watch her and he took it upon himself to get closer"

"How close?" Clint asked his arms folding over his chest. The director didn't miss the slight menacing look in his eye as he waited for an answer.

"Close enough for her to believe that he was an ally that she could trust" Fury replied. "That was until he revealed himself aboard the ship and she fled"

"How do runaway on a ship?" Clint asked and the director simply rose an eyebrow in answer. "She jumped of the ship in the middle of the ocean?"

"I have a team scouring the area, but the motorboat that she and Mason arrived on was gone, so right now I'm assuming that's how she escaped" Fury replied.

"Well your assumption is not good enough for me" Clint spat before turning and stalking away.

"Agent Barton!" Fury called, but the man didn't even pause.

Tony stood in his lab impatiently waiting for Matthew to return. He jumped when Jarvis spoke startling him.

"Sir, I have a call for you" Jarvis informed.

"From who?" Tony asked.

"The call is reading as coming from a payphone sir" Jarvis replied. Tony simply stood to his feet before walking over to his cell phone that sat on the table and bringing it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"_Tony"_ a voice squealed followed by a tiny giggled. "_I thought my luck really did suck and I forgot your number. But here you are" _

"Kitten?" Tony spoke. "Are you drunk?"

"_Probably" _Katie replied sitting on a stool inside of a payphone in the corner of a bar. She held the phone with one hand while her other held a mug of beer. _"So, watcha been up to?"_

"I'll tell you, but first tell me where you are" Tony said.

"_Why would I do a silly thing like that_" Katie replied before taking a long sip from the mug.

"Because you're drunk in a bar at twelve oclock in the afternoon" Tony said before lifting his head. "Jarvis trace the call"

"Right away sir"

"_You want to save me, huh?"_ Katie asked with another drunken giggle. "_You're always trying to save me Tony. When are you going to realize that I can't be saved?" _

"Everybody can be saved kitten" Tony said grabbing his jacket and heading for the elevator. "Especially you. Now tell me where you are"

"_No_" Katie replied with a shake of her head. "_I've ruined your life enough with my craziness and I'm making the decision now to stop." _

"What are you talking about, stop what?" Tony asked stepping onto the elevator.

"_Everything, all of it. This whole vendetta against Shield is pointless, because they're bigger and they're smarter and every time I think I'm getting closer they show up and laugh in my face" _Katie said closing her eyes. "_There's no point in fighting a losing battle when failure is the only outcome" _

"Is that what your dad told you?" Tony asked and the line went silent for a moment.

"_No, that was all me" _Katie replied. "_Let's not talk about my dad, ok?"_

"Ok, let's talk about where you are right now" Tony said stepping off the elevator and into the main floor of the penthouse.

"_I didn't call you to ask for your help, because I think at this point I'm unable to be helped_" Katie said. "_I called to say goodbye_" Tony stopped dead in his tracks.

"You don't say goodbye, because it's final" Tony spoke before lifting his head. "Jarvis!"

"I'm sorry sir, I'm having trouble tracing the call"

"Damnit!" Tony cursed. "Listen Kitten, whatever happened, we'll figure it out. We always figure it out"

"_I have figured it out Tony" _Katie said. _"This whole time I've been searching for a way to end this when it's been staring in my face the whole time. If I want this over, then I end it." _

"By giving up?" Tony asked. "Because that's what this is. This is you coming to a challenge and running away when you can't solve it"

"_I can't beat them all"_ Katie said her voice growing quiet. He could hear the defeat in her voice. _"Look, take care of my brother, tell him I love more than-"_ the words were too hard to even speak. "_Tell him I love him and you-" _

"Katie" Tony said her name almost pleadingly.

"_Marry Pepper, have lots of babies, and just be happy_" Katie swallowed the lump in her throat. _"That's all I ever wanted for you." _

"You make me happy" Tony declared and he heard a silent sniffle from the other end of the phone. "What about Barton, did you call him and tell him all of this?"

_"I don't think I could"_ Katie replied. _"He could-"_

"Convince you not to do this, couldn't he?" Tony asked. "So you called me because I couldn't?"

"_This is for the best. You don't see it now, but you will" _

"Katie-"

"_Goodbye Tony_" Katie whispered before the line went dead.

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**A/N: Well there you go. I know, a horrible place to end, but I got to keep you on your toes. Why? "I'm nice like that." (-LOVED THAT LINE!) I will try to update soon...maybe very soon if you...**

**Feed the author...It's not an addiction, it's love. ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Slow day today, so I thought I would crank out another chapter for you guys. **

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW. IT**

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Words are sometimes as hard to find as a Waldo. Nobody had much of anything to say as they sat in the living room of Tony's DC penthouse. Tony stood staring out the large picture window a glass of bourbon in hand as Matthew sat staring down to the floor. Clint stood off to the side his arms folded over his chest as his head too looked to nothing.

"You must have misheard her" Matthew spoke breaking the silence as he stood to her feet. "If my sister is one thing, she stubborn and doesn't just give up and say goodbye"

"Well she did" Tony said before taking another sip from his glass. "Apparently Shield knows how to suck the life out of a person" he glanced over to Clint before going to pour himself another drink. "You believe that they don't know where she is?" Clint looked over to see that Tony was talking to him.

"I don't know what to believe" Clint replied running a hand over his face. "A person can only take so much betrayal before it starts to get to them"

"Right, this Rick Mason guy" Tony said holding up his glass in a mock toast. "He just made my list."

"I don't care about shit head Shield agents, I care about finding my sister" Matthew said taking a step forward.

"And how do you suggest we do that, huh Mattie?" Tony asked his voice slightly harsher than he intended. "She won't tell us where she is and there's no way to track her, trust me I tried, but if you have so way you think I-" Tony pointed to himself. "Billionaire, genius, smartest person in this room, failed to see, please do tell me"

"Tony calm down" Clint says and Tony turns his glare on the agent. "You're drunk-"

"I'm not drunk Agent Bird Brain, I'm pissed the fuck off, because your agency who you chose over her just took her away from me" Tony said, not thinking of his words before he says them.

"She wasn't yours to take" said Clint as he turned and pressed the button the elevator. "Plus she isn't gone, she's just upset. She'll come back, this isn't over"

"You sound so sure of that" said Tony as he down the contents of his glass in one gulp. "You know something you're not sharing with the rest of the class?"

"No, I just know her" Clint says with a shake of his head as the door finally open. He stepped aside as Pepper walked inside looking between their glum faces.

"Is everything alright?" Pepper asked looking over to Tony who was pouring himself a drink.

"I have to go" Clint says before stalking onto the elevator.

"Wait up!" Matthew said almost running to slip into the elevator as the doors were closing. Pepper kept her eyes on Tony who refused to look at her as he poured his drink and headed back over to the window.

"Tony, you're scaring me, what's going on?" She asked setting her bag down and walking beside him.

"Why are you still with me?" Tony asked unexpectedly and Pepper's seemed taken aback by the question. "I mean sure there's money and the company, but that's not why you're here" he glanced over to her. "What is it?"

"Tony where is this coming from?" Pepper asked tilting her head trying to get a read on the situation. He was upset about something, that much was clear, but she didn't know what. "Did something happen?"

"Just answer the question"

"Ok, I'm here because I love you" Pepper said throwing up her hands in frustration. "Sure you're an insensitive, self absorbed man child ninety five percent of the time, but then there are moments when you're just sweet" she brought her eyes back to him to see him staring at her for a moment before turning back to look out the window.

"So do you think we should get married, or what?" Tony asked and Pepper eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" she asked. "Was that a proposal?"

"That was me asking if you think we should get married" said Tony as he brought the glass to his lips. Pepper watched him for a few moments waiting for a punch line or a gotcha, but neither came verifying her fear that in some sick and twisted way he was serious.

"Are you kidding me, right now?" Pepper asked and Tony turned to look at her. "Do you think we should get married?" she shook her head. "After all these years, that's how you think I deserve to proposed to? Some drunken spur of the moment idea that came to you while staring out the window?"

"It wasn't spur of the moment, I've been thinking about this for a while now and-"

"Well think longer Tony until you find a way to do this that doesn't make you look like an asshole" Pepper snapped before turning on her heels and storming out of the room. Tony went to take another sip only to find his glass empty. In a sudden surge of anger the scientist threw the glass into the wall, letting it smash into pieces.

Katie sat at bar counter staring into her empty mug before glancing over to the bartenders and waving a hand for another round.

"I'm sorry honey, I'm cutting you off" the man said tossing a towel over his shoulder. "You keep this up and you're going to be passed out by the time the crowd starts rolling in and unconscious women aren't a real turn on for folks"

"Speak for your self Lenny!" an old man laughed from the end of the bar sending Katie a wink. The bartender just shook his head before turning back to Katie.

"Go home" he said grabbing the glass from in front of her.

"Hey, I'm came here to get shit wasted out of my mind, to forget about my suck ass life and drink myself into amnesia" She slurred as she stepped off of her stool. "So stop being a pussy and just give me the damn drink" Katie took a step back tripping over her untied shoe strings and falling back, her head hitting the hard linoleum.

"God dammit!" Lenny grunted peeking over the bar to the unconscious woman. "Not again" he looked over to see the old drunk on the end of the bar stand up. "Don't even think about it Zeke, sit down." the man just grumbled before taking his seat at the bar. Lenny reached under his bar grabbing the phone and bringing it to his ear. "Yeah, I'm going to need an ambulance"

_The loud slam that sounded as she hit the floor seem to mirror the pain she was feeling. Her chest was burning as she tried to breathe normally, but it seemed impossible. _

"_Get up!" Martin snapped and Katie looked up to see the man who wore jeans and a white wife beater as he stood almost glaring down to her. "There's no breaks, no time outs, you get knocked down then you get back on your feet" _

"_I can't" Katie muttered defiantly not moving an inch. They'd been going at this for almost an hour since she got back from school and she was getting to her breaking point. _

"_I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Martin asked stalking over to tower over her. She lifted her head meeting his eyes before standing to her feet and not letting the gaze waiver. She was tired and she was sore and she had enough. _

"_I said I can't!" she snapped. "You're bigger and stronger and will beat me every time, so what's the point?" she turned on her heels about to leave when her father caught her arm and spun her around grabbing her by the shoulders and shoving her back on the ground. _

"_The point, light of my life, is that just because you give up doesn't mean I stop trying to hurt you" Martin growl before lifting his leg to kick her, but she rolled away before the contact. "Giving up doesn't ensure safety or happily ever after" he threw another kick, that she quickly jumped away from. "Giving up doesn't mean I'm just going to let you get away" Katie jumped to her feet as a blow came flying toward her, but stopped right in front of her face. Martin dropped his hands to his side. "The point is you never pick a fight you don't believe should be fought. And in the case you think it's a fight worth fighting, you don't walk away because-" he looked at her for the answer. _

"_You don't walk away because it's worth fighting" Katie said with nod. _

"_Good girl" Martin says before placing a kiss on the top of his daughter's head. "Now go get some water and get back out here. You're getting better whether you know it or not" Katie simply nodded before turning and running into the house. _

There was a blinding light that assaulted her eyes out of nowhere and cold fingers touching her face. She tried pushing away whoever was near her, but her movements were too sluggish.

"Miss, can you hear me?" a voice spoke entirely way too loud in Katie's opinion. Katie blinked her eyes looking around a room she didn't remember coming to. "Miss-" a hand touched her shoulder and Katie turned to see a gray haired man in a white lab coat staring down to her. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Where-" Katie rasped her throat was bone dry. The doctor reached over grabbing a cup of water and handing it to her. Katie took it graciously before taking a sip and bringing her eyes back to the man. "Where am I?"

"Medstar Washington Hospital" The doctor replied and Katie closed her eyes letting her head fall back against the pillow. She should've known she would end up back in DC."You were picked up last night at a bar where you got intoxicated, slipped and hit your head. There doesn't seem to be any neurological damage, but there will be a bump." Katie opened her eyes to look over the man. "We searched your things for identification, but came up empty handed. What's your name?"

"I'm-" Katie stopped when she saw someone pass the curtain of her unit. The doctor looked down to her confused before following her eyes to see a commotion happening outside the curtain.

"I'll be right back" The doctor quickly turned to see if he was needed. The moment he was gone Katie sat back on the bed and stared up to the ceiling. She'd stopped by the bar as sort of a last stop before turning herself over to Shield once and for all and ending this craziness, but then her father crept back into her head. Katie shook her head before standing from the bed, she paused slightly dizzy at the sudden movement before continuing to find and put on her clothes. She looked inside her bag, everything inside damaged from her unexpected swim, but she tossed the strap over her shoulder anyway. Her baseball cap sat on the dining table in the corner or the room. Placing it on her head, she peeks out of the curtain. Once the coast was clear Katie steps out fully intending to head right out the door. What she didn't expect was to see Steve and Natasha down the hall. Katie quickly dipped down a hall, her back pressed against the wall as she peeks down to see the pair still in a focused discussion.

"Did they find me?" she muttered to herself. Suddenly she noticed a door open and out came Agent Hill who gestured for Natasha and Steve to come inside. "Something's happening" She waited there hoping to get a gleam of what was happening. A few minutes later Steve came walking out of the room, and the look was undeniable sadness. Katie was so tempted to go over there just to see what was happening, but stopped when Hill came walking out of the room over to him. They spoke in hushed tones, both with looks of seriousness past between them. It was when the door to the conjoining room opened and doctors and nurses walked out, their scrubs bloodied, did Katie's heart start to ram in her chest. Now thoughts were swarming in her head at the possibilities of what could be happening. Natasha sulked out the room a look on her face that portrayed an emotion Katie didn't even know the woman possessed. Once the hospital personnel cleared the room, Natasha and Steve walked inside, Hill choosing to stay in the hall. Katie was so focused on what could be happening that she barely noticed the moment Hill's eyes lifted in her direction. Katie quickly slipped back behind the corner, hoping the woman didn't catch sight of her. She noticed what looked like janitor's closet and ran over to hide inside.

She waited there for what felt like forever before finally emerging from the tiny closet. She walked down the hall, peeking around the corner to see no one recognizable.

"Please be gone" Katie muttered before taking her chances and walking down the hall and finding herself in front of the door she now found herself nervous to go through. She took a shaky breath before reaching down and turning the knob and walking inside. The moment she did she was struck with the sight of Nick Fury lying on a metal table unmoving, nothing covering him but a pale blue sheet. She jumped slightly at the door closing behind her as she stared in bewilderment at the man who lie motionless in front of her. Her eyes scanned the room for a sign that this was some elaborate trick, but there was nothing but him. "You're not dead" she said her voice slightly echoing in the tiny room. She felt stupid the moment the words came flying out of her mouth because the evidence in front of her would beg to differ. Her feet moved sluggishly over to his body until she found herself hovering above him. There was a slight tingling in her fingers and her heart seemed to beat faster than normal. It would seem she was feeling an emotion even she didn't expect at this moment. A warm tear fell down her cheek, and then another... and another. She had no idea why she was crying. If there was anyone she hated on the face of this planet it was Nicholas Fury. He's the reason for her life being torn to shambles, he's the reason she couldn't live a normal life, he's the reason...she has Clint. Her eyes dropped down the man, her hand moving to touch his shoulder. She froze when she heard the door behind her open and then close.

"I thought that was you" The familiar voice of Maria Hill spoke. "I thought I was going crazy" Katie didn't say anything, not sure what she should say. "He was shot while visiting with Captain Rodgers"

"The shooter?" Katie asked.

"Got away" Maria said and Katie turned to her.

"From Steve?" Katie asked knowing that her super soldier friend was a hard one to runaway from. Maria simply nodded and Katie turned back to Fury's body. "Shield ID the shooter?"

"Not yet" Maria said walking over to stand beside Katie. "I doubt they will though" Katie turned her head slightly to look over to the woman. "I received a message moments before the director went to see the Captain" Maria pulled out her phone and showed it to Katie. Katie's eyes widen as she read the message, "SHIELD HAS BEEN COMPROMISED" Katie looked up to Maria's eyes.

"Is this a joke?" Katie asked looking around the room as if this still could be some elaborate scheme to capture her.

"No, Ms. Chambers, this is me telling you that I think you were right" Maria replied and Katie turned back to her.

"I still don't understand, what changed his mind?" Katie asked looking over to the director's body as if expecting him to open his eyes.

"I'm not sure, but he found something that made him jump on the Chambers train" said Maria a she looked down to her watch. "I have to take him now"

"Wha-" Katie looked looked over to the woman. "That's it. You tell me this and then you leave."

"Katie, I just told you that your gut was right, now go find out why" Maria said when there was a sudden knock at the door. Both women turned to see two agents. Maria signaled for them to come inside. Before Katie knew it, the sheet was brought over the director's head and he was rolling out of the room. She didn't move from her spot in the room, her mind now going a mile a minute. Before Maria left she stopped and turned to the woman. "He used to call Coulson his good eye, but do you know what I heard him call you once?"

"No thank you, I've heard some of the things the director has called me and right now isn't the best time to bring back those memories" Katie said snaking off her hat and running a her hand across the back of her head hoping to sooth the soreness.

"I once heard him call you his other good eye" Maria said with a slight smile. Katie looked over just in time to see the Agent turn and leave.

Katie now stood alone in the middle of the room her eyes close as she slowly spun around just... thinking. A mundane task to some, but for Katie there were way too many new pieces to this puzzle. Her eyes snapped open when a sudden thought struck her.

"Why did he go see Steve?" Katie muttered. She slipped her baseball cap back on her head before stalking toward the door slamming into someone almost immediately knocking her off her feet. She fully expected to hit the ground for the second time today, but strong arms quickly wrapped around her waist catching her. Katie lifted her head up to meet familiar green eyes staring back at her.

"Still a clutz, I see" Clint said his hand moving to rest on the side of her face. as his thumb wiped stray tear fell from her eye. Katie stared into his eyes for a moment, her body gradually softening under his touch as she lets herself fall into his arms. She closes her eyes as her head falls to rest on his chest as Clint's arms wrap tightly around her. Both seemed to need this moment more than they knew and for a few moments they were just going to give into it. Katie was the first to pull back, her eyes looking up to Clint's.

"I have to go" Katie said and she could feel his grasp around her tighten. "I have to find Steve, I think Fury may have told him something about why he believed Shield had been compromised."

"The director believed Shield is compromised?" Clint asked and Katie nodded. "I think I heard that he was needed back at HQ. Since he was the last to see the director, they're going to want to question him about what he saw"

"Or what he knows" Katie says before grabbing Clint's hand and pulling him from the room. "If Shield's thought process is like ours, they're going to believe that Steve knows something making him a threat" They moved quickly down the hall, but stopped when someone standing in front of a vending machine caught their eye. Natasha stood in front of an opened vending machine holding something in her hand before looking over to see Katie and Clint looking over to her.

"Run out of change Nat?" Clint asked and Natasha looked over to him before her eyes settled on Katie.

"I thought you were dead" Natasha said.

"No you didn't" Katie replied with a roll of her eyes.

"No, I didn't" said Natasha before looking over to Clint. "You two look like you're on a mission, you're not running off to elope are you?"

"No, we're going to find Steve" Katie said. "Shield-"

"Has been compromise" Natasha finished looking over to the woman. "I know" The way she said it, made Katie's blood boil. It was as if it weren't a big deal. Katie took a step toward the woman, but Clint held her back.

"Hey, we're all on the same side" Clint said.

"Are we?" Katie asked her eyes never moving from the woman in front of her. "How can you stand there and look like-" Katie shook her head before turning back to Clint. "Let's just go find Steve" they moved around Natasha about to continue down the hall.

"I wouldn't leave if I were you" Natasha said and they both turned to her. "Steve should be coming back pretty soon"

"And you know this, how?" Katie asked.

"Because I have this" Natasha says pulling out the flash drive Katie recognized from the launch ship. Katie reached out to grab it, but Natasha pulled it away. "Not going to happen, the director gave this to Steve"

"Then why do you have it?" Katie asked angrily reaching for it again unsuccessfully.

"He hid it before going back to HQ" the woman replied. "He's not that good at hiding things"

"Well since the director didn't give it to you, I would say he didn't trust you to have it" Katie says holding out her hand. "Give it to me" Natasha looked over to Clint.

"You should learn to control your girl friend" Natasha said before turning and walking away. Katie tried to go after her, but Clint grabbed her and pulled her back to him.

"I don't trust her" Katie says looking up to Clint.

"Yes you do" Clint says glancing around the hall before pulling Katie with him down the hall. "You wish you didn't, but you do"

"God, I do" Katie sighed as she let him pull her. "Where are we going?" Clint led them to a row of seats where he pushed her to sit down. "What are you doing?"

"We're waiting" Clint says taking the seat beside her. "If Nat's right-"

"Big damn "If" there" Katie muttered as she looked down to the vending machine.

"Yeah well if she's right, the captain's going to be coming back for that flash and when he does, we can plan from there" Clint says reaching over and taking Katie's hand in his. She looked down to their hands before looking over to him. Natasha sauntered over taking the seat on the other side of Clint, letting out a loud sigh as she did. Katie removed her hand from Clint's slipping it into her lap as she looks down to the vending machine.

"He get's an hour" Katie says breaking the awkward silence. "He's not back in an hour, I'm going to find my friend" She heard Natasha scoff and turned to see the woman toss a piece of gum into her mouth.

Tony jumped up from his spot on the couch where he had nodded off after his fight with Pepper. He held up his arm in attempt to block out the sun as he sat up stretching his now sore neck. He immediately felt something poking his back, so he reached behind him. His hand felt something small and pulled it out. It was the flash drive Matthew used to plant the bug in Fury's computer.

"Jarvis, is the bug still active in Shield's main frame?" Tony asked.

"It would appear so, sir" Jarvis replied.

"Open Shield files on Arnim Zola" Tony ordered and soon a holographic image appeared on the table across the room.

"What exactly are you looking for, sir?" Jarvis asked as Tony stood to his feet stretching his sore muscles before walking over.

"What the Zola had that Shield wanted" Tony replied. With his fingers he flipped through the files until one caught his eye. He was so engulfed in reading that he didn't hear the elevator doors slide open and he didn't hear the foot steps behind him.

"Tony!" Bruce called causing Tony to jump slightly and turned to him. "Where the hell have you been, I've been calling you all morning" Tony simply waved him off and turned back to read the file. "Have you listened to any of your messages?"

"I've been dead to the world for the past couple of hours, so no" Tony answered as he expanded an old picture of Dr. Zola. "And would you keep your voice down?"

"So you don't know?" Bruce asked to Tony who at this point was just barely listening. "Tony, Fury's dead" Tony stopped, lifted his head and turned back to Bruce. "He was murdered" Tony Stark, the man with something to say about everything, had no words.

Matthew walked down the streets of DC, a hood over his head. He couldn't just stay in his apartment anymore. He needed to be doing something to find his sister. Too bad he had no idea exactly how he could help. Tony had the money and the smarts, Barton had the insight track with Shield, hell even Banner had connections. He had nothing, no starting point, no idea how he was going to find her. Matthew found himself standing at the edge of the Tidal Basin looking over to the Jefferson Monument.

"Where are you Rinny?" he whispered to himself. He stood there in silence when suddenly the sound of screeching tires caused him to turn around. The next few minutes happened so quickly, that he barely registered what was happening. All he saw was a black van and then large men with guns jump out and grab him. He tried to get a look of their faces. It was one of the few things he remembered Katie taught him. But everything was just moving so damn fast that he only was able to catch a glimpse of one face and before he knew it they were tossing a bag over his head. Matthew felt himself being pulled and pushed until he came into contact with what he guessed was the van's floor. He just remained still as he tried to keep the image of the man with the strange mask in mind. That was the last lucid thought he had before blow to the back of the head made his entire world dark.

Clint, Katie and Natasha sat impatiently waiting for the return of Steve. The silence was getting uncomfortably awkward, so Clint decided to try filling said silence with small talk.

"Are there any leads on who shot the director?" Clint asked looking over to Natasha who glanced over to him with a look that caught his attention. "Nat?"

"You're not going to believe me" Natasha said turning away from him. "But given the description of this guy and the distance of that shot, I'm thinking its him" she looked over to Clint and gave him a look that answered his question.

"Him?" Katie asked totally lost by the conversation. Natasha let out an annoyed sighed before turning back to look down to her hands. Katie shook her head before looking over to Clint. "Who is she talking about?"

"A myth" Clint says looking over to Katie. "One no one has any definite answers about, but who many around the agency claim they've seen." he glanced over to Natasha who wouldn't meet his gaze. "Including Nat" Katie looked between Natasha and Clint waiting for one of them to answer the big question.

"Does this phantom myth have a name?" Katie asked.

"Yeah" Clint says looking over to her. "They call him the Winter Soldier"

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**A/N: Ahh, and so we finally have mention of our Winter Soldier. Next chapter we come face to face with him and Katie realize that the man behind the mask has familiar eyes.** **Matthew's been kidnapped! Prepare for a pissed off lab tech. **

**DON'T FORGET TO FEED THE AUTHOR 8)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sooo... I didn't expect to take a week to get this done, I'm sorry. But I'm here now, with a new chapter. **

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

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Tick...Tock...Tick. The sound of a clock ticking was the audible sound of the grains of sand sifting through an hour glass. Each tick was a second lost, never to be seen again. Katie stared up to the wall clock watching second after second pass. A whole forty five minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Steve. Her mind instantly went to the dark places. The places where every worst possible outcome was happening.

"What were you doing here?" Natasha asked breaking their awkward silence as she leaned forward to get a look at Katie. "It's awfully coincidental that you just appear in the hospital the day the director was brought in"

"Not really" Katie says holding up her wrist to reveal her hospital wrist band. "Just shitty luck that seems to follow me wherever I go" Clint grabbed her wrist to look at the band before bringing his eyes to Katie.

"You were admitted?" Clint asked his voice edging on concern, but trying not to react too quickly.

"I was on my way back to turn myself over to Lucifer so I stopped, and decided that I needed to get wasted. I drank a lot of alcohol, tripped and knocked myself out, when I woke up I was here" Katie said not missing the slight snort from the assassin on the end.

"Well are you ok?" Clint asked and Katie nodded.

"I'm fine" Katie replied pulling her wrist from his grasp. "Just a bump on the head" she turned back up to the clock. "This is getting ridiculous, something is wrong" she stood to her feet, but Clint grabbed her arm.

"You think waltzing into SHIELD is going to help anyone right now?" asked Clint. "Right now we have to work with the idea that the Captain can take care of himself if he needs to"

"And it would seem that he can" Natasha said standing to her feet as they all turned to see a hooded man walking down the hall, his head down. They all took a step forward, but Natasha stopped and turned to them. "How about I go in solo on this one. All of us going over there asking him questions, might get a little suspicious"

"You going over there at all will look suspicious" Katie replied folding her arms over her chest. "There's no telling what happened when he went back to HQ and I don't think the first person he needs to see is bitch warrior princess"

"Too bad this isn't up for a vote" Natasha said glancing over to Clint before turning and heading down the hall. Katie made to follow, but Clint grabbed her and pulled her back.

"What are you doing?" Katie asked turning to Clint. "Every word out of her mouth is either a lie or a lie, and if we're going to figure this out, she can't be the central point of information"

"Whether you like it or not, she is" Clint replied. "It's what makes her good at what she does. She finds the secrets and keep them under lock and key until its necessary to let them out" Katie let out an annoyed growl as she walked around Clint snatching her cap off of her head, and trying her best to sooth the throbbing bump on the back of her head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" She muttered not turning to him. She did turn slightly just in time to see Steve pull Natasha into a darkened corner. "Now what?"

"We let her do what she does best" Clint says and Katie simply shakes her head before turning away once again. He stood there staring at her back, words on the tip of his tongue threatening to come flying out. It was just too much to hold in and so he decided to just let it out. "What do you want from me?" Katie whipped around to him with a look of confusion. That question just came out of nowhere. "Do you want an apology, because I'll give it to you. Do you want me to say that I was wrong and my plan was stupid, hey I'll say that too." He took a firm step forward so she could see the seriousness in his eyes. "Just tell me what I have to do to make this better, to make us better" Katie closed her eyes dropping her head. This wasn't the time for this. There was just way more important things to focus on and right now their relationship wasn't at the top of the list. "Kat-"

"Stop" Katie said opening her eyes and looking back to him. "Just stop talking and listen" Katie took a step close enough that they touched with every breath they took. "I love you and-" She wanted to turn and run away from this situation and all of these emotions she didn't want to feel. "And a year and a half ago you left. Intentions be damned, you left me and I never-" she clenched her fist trying to will the words she just wanted to bottle up, but they weren't stopping. They needed to be said and so she was going to say them. "You left and I was empty. I'm still-" she shook her head. "There's nothing you can do to make this better because I'm not sure it can. I'm the one who has to learn to look at you and not go back to that moment" she looked over his shoulder to see Steve and Natasha walking in their direction.

"I'm glad to see you're alive" Steve says looking over to Katie.

"Ditto" Katie replied. "I'm taking it they didn't welcome you with open arms" Steve let out a long sigh as he glanced over his shoulder.

"You could say that" The Captain replied turning back to Katie. "We should move"

"And where are we going?" Clint asked and Steve looked to Katie. Both Natasha and Clint followed his eyes. "Am I missing something?" Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver flash drive.

"The director came to see me last night and he gave me this" Steve said looking down to the flash. "Apparently it goes into a computer" he glanced back over to Katie. "He told me to find our computer lady" Steve held out the flash to Katie who looked almost hesitant. "There's answers here Katie, and we need you to find them"

"Need's a strong word" Natasha muttered gaining a glare from the lab tech. "Can we get a move on, it won't be long before we're found here" They all turned to Katie who took the flash from his hand.

"We're going to need a computer" Katie said looking down to the drive. "Some place big and-" a smile came to her lips as she looked back up. "C'mon, I know a place" she turned and walked away, her friends right behind her.

Bruce stood watching as Tony's eyes glazed over at the news of Fury's death. He was unsure if he should say anything else, but the image on the holograph behind Tony caught his attention.

"What were you doing?" Bruce asked and Tony glanced over to him before turning back to the hologram.

"I have the files on Arnim Zola" Tony says. "I was actually looking forward to throwing it Fury's face, but looks like that's gone straight out the window" Tony looked over to Bruce. "Is there a suspect?"

"No idea, I got a call from Steve, but he didn't say much" Bruce sighed walking over to glance over to the hologram. "It did get me to thinking though. What if all of this is connected?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Paris, and Heisenberg, Fury's death" Bruce brought his eyes back to Tony. "Katie"

"You think Katie killed Fury?" asked Tony, the disbelief in his tone obvious.

"No, I am saying that they all have one common denominator and it's her" Bruce replied. Tony simply shook his head before walking away. "You can't tell me you don't see it?"

"You do know there's another option here" Tony says glancing over to Bruce. "She could be right"

"You mean SHIELD being corrupted?" Bruce asked and Tony nodded. Bruce rubbed his eyes before looking back to Tony. "It's a possibility, but right now we know nothing"

"That's not true" Tony said before pointing to the hologram. "Katie contacted us, told us that SHIELD was using the research of Arnim Zola" Bruce turned to the hologram and read through the files. "I think they're using his algorithm to predict future threats"

"How does that make them corrupt?" Bruce asked looking over to Tony. "I mean after everything that's happened, being able to stop some of these bastards before they could act could be a good thing"

"Depending on whose deciding what's a threat" Tony said walking beside Bruce.

"How did you get access to this?" Bruce asked looking down to the files as Tony expanded Zola's equations.

"Matthew may have gone to SHIELD and downloaded this from the director's computer" Tony replied nonchalantly as he focused on the equation.

"I'm sorry, did you just-" Bruce looked around the penthouse. "Wait, where is Matthew?" Tony lifted his head and looked over to Bruce.

"Probably asleep?"

"It's two oclock in the afternoon" Bruce replied and that perked up Tony's ears. Matthew was an early bird, always up before everyone doing something.

"Jarvis, is Matt in the building?" Tony asked.

"I'm afraid not sir' Jarvis informed. "Mr. Banks left early this morning and has not returned" Bruce and Tony shared a look.

"Jarvis, call Matthew now" Tony ordered.

"Right away sir" Jarvis replied. Tony and Bruce stood there waiting impatiently. "I'm sorry sir, Mr. Banks did not answer."

"Damn it Mattie!" Tony snapped turning back to the hologram. He slid Zola's files away and brought up what looked like a map. "Jarvis, give me Matt's last location" Soon a tiny dot appeared on the map.

"The last know signal of Mr. Bank's phone places him near the Tidal Basin" Jarvis said. "After five minutes the signal disappears sir" Tony turned back to Bruce who stood there wordlessly.

"We don't know anything is even wrong" Bruce said trying to put his friend's mind at ease, but even he wasn't too sure of his words. "He's worried about his sister and-"

"He doesn't turn off his cell phone" Tony interrupted turning back to the map. "He's had the same number for years and he doesn't turn it off in case Katie calls him. Something's wrong" Tony stopped what he was doing and turned to Bruce with wide eyes. "She's going to kill me"

The mall was a very unexpected destination. That's the thought Clint had as he, Natasha and Steve followed behind Katie into the crowded shopping center. He kept his hood over his head hoping to hide from any camera that may be recording at the moment. Natasha too wore a hooded jacket, while Steve decided on wearing a baseball cap and a pair of glasses as a disguise.

"Ok, Bart, Romanoff you're going to be our eyes" Katie said over her shoulder, her baseball cap pulled firmly to hide her face as well. "Bart takes the upper level and Natasha sticks down here"

"Since when do you give the orders?" Natasha asked walking beside her.

"Fine, then how about we do this" Steve said moving to stand between the women in hopes of preventing any outbreak of violence that always seemed to be on the brink when they were together. "Natasha and Barton keep and eye out. Barton up high and Natasha down low while me and Katie go find this computer" Steve looked between their faces for any objections. Natasha simply rolled her eyes before breaking away from the group to her post.

"Thank you for that" Katie said looking over to Steve as they stepped onto the escalator.

"So you sure you can decrypt that thing?" Steve asked his eyes instinctively scanning over the mall and it's patrons.

"Well at the moment, Kat's our best bet" Clint said also keeping a watchful eye out. The moment they stepped off the elevator Katie turned down one way, Steve about to follow, but Clint caught his arm.

"If we get separated-"

"I'll look after her" Steve said with a slight nod. He recognized the look in the archer's eyes and knew that at this point separating from Katie was the last thing he wanted to do. "I promise" Clint nodded before glancing over to Katie who stood waiting. Their eyes met for a brief moment, both sending the other a silent message neither would say with words before Clint turned and walked off to his own post.

"Everything alright?" Katie asked when Steve walked over to her.

"Yeah" Steve said looking up to the Apple sign above their heads. "Where are we?"

"Some would say a computer store" Katie says as she looks inside the Apple store. "Me, I would say it's a little piece of heaven on earth" She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. They walked over to an empty laptop. "All SHIELD drivers have level six homing programs as a security measure" Katie begins typing away on the computer while Steve's eye keep watch. "So as soon as I get this booted it up, SHIELD will know exactly where we are"

"How much time will we have?" Steve asks.

"About nine minutes from..." Katie inserts the flash into the side of the laptop, a small beep signaling it's start. "Now" Steve looked over to Katie whose fingers seemed to take on a life of their own as she typed. He had absolutely no idea what she was doing, but she seemed to be doing it effortlessly. "Shit" or so he thought.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked.

"No, I think I was right to look into that ship, I mean someone was obviously trying to hide something" Katie said her fingers never stopping. "The drive is protected by some kind of AI, it keeps-" a smile formed on Katie's lips and her fingers finally stopped.

"What?"

"At every point of a attack, it rewrites itself" Katie says the smile never wavering. "Such pricks, I think I found out why they wanted Tony's firewall"

"Can you override it?" Steve asked and Katie simply tilted her head as she looked at the code that appeared on the screen. It wasn't quite the same as Tony's, but the basis seemed to be mirrored after Tony's code exactly. "Katie can-" Katie held up a hand for him to stop talking, before her fingers once again started typing.

"Whoever did this is like seriously good, I mean if I were anyone but me, this might be hard" Katie says. "But since I am me..." Her fingers typed furiously and Steve simply watched in amazement. He glanced down to his watch, they were running out of time.

"Katie-"

"You start barking numbers at me Captain and I am going to hit you" Katie says not sparing the man a glance. "These things take time"

"Guess what we don't have?" Steve asked gaining a side glance from the woman. "Can you do this or not?" Katie stopped typing and rubbed the back of her head, the soreness from her fall still there. "Katie?"

"A little more time and I could decrypt this thing in ten different languages, but since the clock is running out, I'm going to have to trace it" Katie says bringing her fingers back to the keys. "Since we can't read the file, maybe I can find out where it was created" Katie was busy typing away when an Apple employee walked over to them.

"Can I help you guys with anything?" he ask and both Katie and Steve turned to him smiles appearing on their faces.

"Oh, no, my brother and I were just looking into a place that we should take the family for our big family reunion" Katie says sending a smile up to Steve.

"Yeah, family reunion, with...our family" Steve says and Katie just sends him a confused look before looking back over to the employee.

"Naturally" the man says with a nod. "So where are you guys thinking of having this shindig?"

"Uh-" Steve looks back to the computer and says the first word he sees. "New Jersey" They both look over to the employee who seems a bit put off by that statement, but doesn't say anything about it. His eyes suddenly go to Steve as if he recognizes him. Katie mentally cursed because she had a feeling those glasses weren't going to hide his true identity.

"You know I have those exact same glasses" The man says.

"Wow" Katie says turning back to the laptop. "You two are practically twins" Steve didn't miss the sarcasm, but it seemed to go right over the employees head as he smiled over to Steve.

"Oh, I wish" he said before gesturing to Steve. "Specimen" Steve looked slightly confused and uncomfortable with the situation. The employee must have caught on. "Uh, if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron" Steve just nodded and watched as the man turned and walked away.

"Family reunion?" Steve muttered.

"What did you want me to say, that you were my fiance and that we were searching for honeymoon destinations?" Katie asked. "I'm a method actor Captain, there would be grabbing and touching that I'm not sure you would be comfortable with" Steve simply chose to ignore her as he leaned into to read the computer. "I would've made you blush my friend"

"The signal is coming from Wheaton, New Jersey" Steve says looking over to Katie.

"You know it?" Katie asks.

"I used to" Says Steve before snatching the flash from the computer. "Let's go" he grabs Katie's hand and pulls her out of the store.

"I know it's been a while Steve, but I think you should know I don't like being man handled" Katie said snatching her hand away as they stopped outside of the door. Steve didn't say anything and Katie followed his eyes over to Clint who was signaling to the low level of the mall.

"They found us" Steve says before giving Clint a nod before grabbing Katie's hand and once again pulling her with him.

"Steve, where's Bart going?" Katie asks as they sifted through the crowd. "Why isn't he coming with us?" She looked back to see the Clint had disappeared in to the crowd.

"Because right now the last thing that can happen is us getting caught" Steve says looking back to Katie. "Even if that means separating" Katie looked to him and just nodded. They began walking when Katie spotted two SHIELD agents.

"Standard tag team" she kept her eyes on the agents. "Two behind, two across and two coming straight for us" She always wondered what was it with SHIELD and only pairing their agents in twos.

"Spot on" Steve says glancing over to them as well. "I'll engage, you hit the south escalator and and then the metro before-"

"Shut up" Katie says before wrapping her arm around Steve. "Just look at me and laugh." they were nearing the agents. "Now" both erupted into a fit of laughter as they walked past the agents, only glancing back to make sure they weren't made. Katie dropped her hand from behind his back and they kept walking.

"That was good thinking" Steve said as they headed for the escalator.

"Yeah, well I've had lots of practice with hiding from SHIELD" Katie says as their feet touch the escalator. "We have two more" Steve looks to the dark clothed men who are on the adjacent escalator. "Remember what I said about being a method actor?" Katie whispered and Steve quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Put your arms around me" Steve didn't move and so Katie grabbed his hands and brought them around his waist, and before he knew what was happening Katie had wrapped her arms around him bringing him into kiss. It lasted only a few moments and they pulled apart when they knew that they were in the clear. Steve looked down to Katie, his cheeks burning a slight hint of red as he looked to the woman.

"Was that necessary?" Steve asked as they stepped off of the escalator.

"Public displays of affection" Natasha voice spoke appearing along side of them as they continue their trek for the exit. "They make people uncomfortable"

"Yes they do" Steve says bringing his hands to his lips before quickly dropping it.

"It probably just saved both your asses" Natasha says as they push through the glanced over to Katie who hadn't said anything. "I wonder where you learned that?" Katie simply glanced over to the woman and rolling her eyes. They hadn't walked far before Katie stopped.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked turning to her. "We have to keep moving"

"Then go, you have the next piece of the puzzle" Katie replies turning back to the mall. "I can't just leave him in there"

"In all the years that you've know him, what would let you believe that he would let himself get caught in a mall, by Rumlow no less?" Natasha said and Katie knew she was right. It still didn't make her feet moving that much easier. "Did you find what we were looking for?"

"No, the flash is it's own lock and key" Katie replies. "I would've needed more time to decrypt it"

"What, super-nerd couldn't get it up?" Natasha asked sarcastically. "I have to say that makes me feel all fuzzy on the inside"

"That's impossible" Katie replies glancing over to the woman. "There's nothing inside of you but bullshit and a black hole of nothingness. I wasn't able to decrypt the flash, but I was able to trace it back to its origin, that's where we're headed now, once we get some wheels that is."

"I'll take care of that" Steve replied and both women stopped and looked over as he walked away into the parking lot of the mall.

"He's not about to do what I think he's about to do, is he?" Katie muttered over to Natasha.

"I think he is" Natasha replied as both women watch as Captain America himself stole a car. It was like watching Santa Claus stealing candy from a baby.

Finding a way out of the mall wasn't as difficult as it would seem. For Clint anyways. He found a way out, bypassing all agents, before leaving right out the front door. Despite his better judgment, instead of continuing to move, Clint stopped and let his eyes scan the parking lot for her face. He knew that there was a chance that they would be separated, but he was hoping that it wouldn't be this soon. After a few moments, he realized that she was probably gone and so it was time for him to do the same. After "borrowing" a ride of his own, he tried to think of a place he could go and only one place came to mind.

That's how Clint ended up back at Tony's penthouse. It was the only place he knew that wasn't under SHIELD'S control and still had enough security to warn them of any danger. He rode the elevator, a small part of him wanting to just turn around, but he couldn't. The doors slid open and that's when he spotted Bruce and Tony, both turning to him as he stepped into the apartment.

"Good" Bruce said walking over to the man. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?" Clint asked looking between the two men.

"You don't know where Matthew is, do you?" Tony asked and the confused look in Clint's eyes was answer enough.

"Wait, Matthew's missing?" Clint asked and both Tony and Bruce nodded. Clint ran a hand through his hair. "Wait, wait, he's a grown man, I mean he's probably off blowing off some steam right?"

"It's possible" Bruce said looking over to Tony. "We shouldn't automatically assume the worst."

"Well when those assumptions have been right, I tend to lean toward them more often" Tony replied turning to Clint. "What's going on back at the farm now that Fury's-" it was still hard to say. Not that Tony was overly fond of the director, but it seemed his passing was affecting him in ways he didn't expect. "Now that he's gone"

"No idea" Clint replied and he knew from the looks that he got, coming clean was the only option. "Look, you're not going to believe this, but I think Katie was on the right track. There's something going on with SHIELD that's not right, and I think all of this maybe proof of that"

"So you're saying you believe that SHIELD has been corrupted?" asked a still skeptical Bruce. Clint nodded in response. "And you have proof?"

"Not yet, but they're working on it" Clint stated.

"When you say they...?" asked Tony and Clint simply gave him a knowing look. "She's back, isn't she?"

"Yeah, and right now she's with Nat and the Captain trying to find out what SHIELD's hiding" Clint replied.

"So what do we do now?" Bruce asked and the three men stood in silence as they all tried coming up with an answer to that question.

"Look adult or not, Matthew is my responsibility" Tony spoke. "I need to find out where he is, and part of that means making sure he's not being used as some sort of bargaining chip"

"You think it's possible that SHIELD has him?" Bruce asked.

"Well" Tony said looking over to Clint. "Let's ask employee of the month here. Is that a move SHIELD would make?" Clint thought and he didn't like the answer to the question. "I'm going to take your silence as a yes" And with that Tony turned and headed for his bedroom.

"Where are you going?!" Bruce called after him.

"To get changed, and then we're heading into enemy territory!" Tony called over his shoulder. Bruce looked over to Clint who seemed to be thinking hard.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just if Tony's right, if SHIELD does have Matthew and plan on using him to get to Kat, I'm-" he let out a sigh. "I'm afraid this may be one move SHIELD may not want to make. I mean you've seen Kat when she's helping, trying to fight the good fight, but you cross her and she shows another side."

"I have the feeling that I should step away from this situation, just to keep the other guy in check" Bruce said pulling off his glass and rubbing his eyes before looking back over to Clint.

"But you're going anyway"

"I've grown strangely fond of Matt" Bruce said with a slight smile. "Even if he is the most annoying person I've ever met, he still a friend. I'll just try my hardest not to get too excited"

"Good luck with that" Clint replied.

Katie sat in the backseat of the stolen vehicle staring out the window, not paying attention to the conversation between Steve and Natasha. The only word she could think of to describe how she was feeling was strange. She knew that there was something going on at SHIELD, and she knew that it wasn't good. Though, there was a small part of her that wanted to be wrong. She too had hope that there could be an entity out there whose sole purpose was to protect the world. SHIELD was that hope. Or at least they were. Katie eye's found themselves drifting closed when a voice seemed to put an end to that.

"Sparrow!" a voice called and her eyes snapped open to see Natasha staring back to her. "No sleeping on the job. We need you to talk, tell us what you know about that ship"

"Not much" Katie replied sitting up a bit in her seat. "I implanted a tracking bug in SHIELD's database which is how I've been able to access so much information. The launch ship appeared in a few places, but more times from one person"

"And who is that?" Steve asked.

"Alexander Pierce, the man whose connected to all of this, but I have absolutely no idea how" Katie replied running her hand over the back of her head. "Hopefully we find some answers in Jersey" she shook her head and turned back to look out the window.

"Hey" Steve spoke and Katie glanced back to see him glancing to her through the rear view mirror. "I'm sorry I didn't-"

"Steve stop" Katie said with a slight shake of her head. "You don't have to apologize. I was telling you the sky was falling, of course you weren't going to take my word for it"

"I should've at least heard you out" Steve replied before looking over to Natasha. "I mean after everything we've witnessed, we all should've given you the benefit of the doubt and for that I'm sorry" He still looked over to Natasha expecting her to corroborate, but she simply turned to look out the window. "I'm fifty percent sure Natasha feels the same way"

"And I'm ninety nine percent sure those words will never pass through her lips" Katie said with a smirk before letting her eyes drift close again.

"Where have you been?" Natasha spoke and once again Katie's eyes snapped open. "A year and a half is a long time"

"I've been a couple of places" Katie replied looking over to the woman. "You've never been this interested in anything concerning me, like ever. What's the deal?"

"She's trying to keep you awake until we know you don't have concussion" Steve said glancing over to Natasha who simply turned away deciding not to dignify that statement with a reply.

"Well studies show that there is no added benefit to staying awake after a blow to the head" Katie replies closing her eyes and leaning her head back. "In fact doctors believe rest can speed along the healing process"

"Well I guess someone with as many blows to the head as you would know" Natasha muttered and Katie let out an unflattering snort.

"That was actually a good one" Katie sighed as she tried her best at getting some rest.

Bruce and Tony were the ones who went in through the front door. Clint stayed back at the penthouse just in case he popped up on any cameras from the mall. He knew that if SHIELD was truly compromised then he wouldn't be walking out of there.

"Let me do all the talking" Tony says as he slips off his sunglasses and strolls to the check in desk, skipping the line of people waiting.

"Sir" the agents said looking over to Tony. "There's a line"

"Oh" Tony says glancing back to the people. "There is...huh" he turns back to the agent. "Right, so back to why we're here I need to speak with whose ever in charge now"

"Sir-"

"You can sir me all you want, I'm not going anywhere until I see the new be cheese in charge" Tony said. The agent looked over to his partner who let out a long sigh before picking up the phone. Tony watched the man make the call. After a few muttered words, the agent finally hung up the phone and looked back up to Tony.

" Agent Pierce will see you now" The agent said.

"Pierce?" Tony said glancing over to Bruce who shared the same look of suspicion. Tony turned back to the agent and nodded before nudging his head for Bruce to come with him. The moment they stepped onto the elevator and the doors slid closed, Tony turned to Bruce about to say something, but Bruce simply held up a hand to stop him.

"I know" Bruce said already knowing what the man was about to say.

"But Pierce-"

"Tony, I know" Bruce said glancing over to him. "Right now is not the time to talk about this"

"Right" Tony said with a nod before turning back to the doors.

They walked over to Pierce's assistant's desk just as the woman stood to her feet.

"Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner, Agent Pierce is in his office" Trudy said before leading them into the office. Pierce typed something on his computer before standing to his feet.

"Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner, I have to say this isn't the best time as you could assume" Pierce said pointing to the seats in front of his desk. "We're all a bit shell shocked trying to figure out what's going to happen without the director"

"You seem to have taken the reigns" Tony said crossing the room to stand in front of the desk. Bruce chose to stay near the door, his arms folded over his chest.

"Well someone has to and the council thought I was the best for the job" replied Pierce. "I know you're probably wondering what all of this means for you and your team, but the council hasn't decided on what to do with the Avenger's initiative yet, but the moment they do, I will let you know"

"That's not why we're here" Tony said picking up a picture of Pierce and his daughter that sat on Pierce's desk.

"Then why are you here Mr. Stark" Pierce replied before reaching out and taking the picture and placing it back on his desk. "If you don't mind me asking" Pierce glanced over to Bruce who hadn't said a word, but who seemed to be keeping a close eye on him.

"I don't mind at all" Tony said. "Matthew Banks, he's missing and I think you know where he is"

"Why would you think that?" Pierce asked.

"Well because this-" Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and turned the screen toward the agent. Pierce looked down to see something he believed could only be access internally at SHIELD. It was a picture of Steve and Katie, with the words "_WANTED DOA"_ underneath. "This is being circulated throughout this building." Tony turns the phone to look down to the screen. "I'm still trying to figure out why the Captain is now at the top of your most wanted list" he shook his head before looking back over to Pierce. "I don't think I've heard the man curse" he looked over to Bruce. "Have you?" Bruce simply shook his head before Tony turned back to Pierce. "So you can see why I think this is a little strange"

"It is believed that Captain Rodgers is withholding information about Director Fury's death and is refusing to turn over the information." Pierce replied. "Around here, Mr. Stark, we call that the sign of a compromised agent. We also have proof that he has been seen conversing with Ms. Banks, a known SHIELD traitor."

"Why is she a traitor again?" Tony asked tilting his head with a quirked eyebrow. "I mean she hasn't killed anyone, or sold any secrets. The only thing she's done is question the moves being made around here."

"You're too emotionally involved with this woman to look at this objectively Mr. Stark, which is why your input into this investigation is not needed" Pierce replied before picking up his tablet and shuffling through a few files. "I have no idea where this Matthew Banks person is, so if you wouldn't mind I'm very busy" he glanced up to Tony who hadn't moved. "That was my polite way of saying get the hell out of my office Stark" Tony smirked before giving the man a nod and turning and walking over to Bruce. Tony nudged his head to the door expecting Bruce to follow him out, but instead the doctor walked over to place himself in front of Pierce's desk. The movement visibly shaken the agent who took a slight step back.

"You're lying, I know you're lying, and Tony knows you're lying" Bruce said getting no response from Pierce. "You have him and I think you should know that if this is some big elaborate scheme to hurt Katie, or to stop the truth from coming out, it won't work" Bruce placed a hand on the desk before pulling his glasses off with the other. "I have no doubt that she won't let it work and I happen to know for a fact that me or the other guy won't let it work. So Pierce be smart, we're enemies you can not afford to have. Matthew has nothing to do with anything that's happening here, so just let him go"

"I'm sorry doctor" Pierce said before clearing his throat. "I have no idea what you're talking about" Bruce simply shook his head before sliding back on his glasses.

"Have it your way" Bruce replied before turning and walking out with Tony.

"You're alright there, big man?" asked Tony noticing the slight color change in his friend's skin. He gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Calm down, I already have the next move" They walked on to the elevator and the moment the doors closed Tony brought his cell phone to his ear. "JARVIS, I want you to dissect all of SHIELD's files, gut it like a fish, every database and if you come to a locked door, use my kitten's key and knock it down" Tony ended the called before looking back over to Bruce who still seemed to be taking deep breaths. "I told you to let me do the talking"

"Well you weren't saying enough" replied Bruce giving a sideways glance over to Tony.

The moment Tony and Bruce left Pierce's office, the agent sat back down behind his desk and pull out his cell phone. He pressed one speed dialed button before bringing it to his ear.

"Yeah, this is Pierce" Pierce said glancing over to the door. "How's our guest?"

The Winter Soldier stood staring down to the unconscious man on the floor of the dim lit, dank room.

"He's sleeping" The Winter Soldier says as he looks down to his bloodied knuckles with a smirk.

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**A/N: I know there wasn't much of the Winter Soldier in this chapter, like I promised, but I simply go where my fingers take me. Don't worry, next chapter should be where the action begins, and where the Winter Soldier finally comes face to face with a few "unfamiliar" faces. **

**Feed the author...I've gone too long without your awesome feedback.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sooo, this next chapter sort of covers my favorite scene from the movie, which is why when I was typing it ran kind of long. So I decided to just divided the following chapters into two parts. I probably won't do this often, but for today you get two chapters. **

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

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Katie always thought it was strange how emotions could make themselves manifest physically of their own accord.. She tried sleeping, but it seemed her mind wanted to stay awake. When they finally made it to Jersey for some reason she got nervous. They were moments away from possibly finding out what Shield was hiding and she was nervous. Her mind went to all the possibilities and none of them put her at ease.

The moment they pulled up in front of the camp, everything seemed to get quiet. No one said a word as they stepped out of the truck and walked toward the gated building. Katie glanced over to Steve who couldn't tear his eyes away from the dilapidated building, his shield gripped tight in his hand. She figured that seeing this place, seeing where it all started for him must have been strange.

"How you doing Steve?" Katie asked walking along side of him.

"It's still a little strange" Steve said looking up to the building. "I remember being here like it was yesterday, but here it is ninety years later" he looks back down to Katie. "I guess I will always be a man out of time"

"The file came from these coordinates?" Natasha asked looking back to Steve and Katie.

"Yeah" Steve replied with a nod as he looked back up to the building. "So did I"

"So, how are we going to get on the other side?" Katie asked looking to the tall gate. Both Steve and Natasha look back at her as if it were obvious. When she finally did catch on she turned back to the fence and let out a sigh.

"Don't worry" Natasha said walked up to the gate and beginning to climb. "If you fall, I'm sure you'll die on impact"

"Thanks for those reassuring words" Katie said walking over to the fence.

"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you" Steve said and Katie gave him a nod.

"Just don't get distracted by the asses and I'm sure I'll make it over this fence alive" Katie said as she began climbing the fence. Steve stood there a moment a little shocked by her words before shaking it off and climbing the fence. He found himself trying not to look above him as he did.

The camp was big, and they soon found themselves losing daylight as they searched for whatever they should be finding.

"This is a dead end" Natasha said holding up her cell phone looking for any sign of life the could've been here. "Zero heat signatures, zero waves, not even radio" she looked over to Katie. "Whoever made the file must have made a router to throw people off"

"Possible" Katie replied letting her eyes scan over the camp.

"Or you got it wrong" Natasha said and Katie turned to the woman. "Which is also possible, seeing as you did suffer a head injury recently"

"Natasha-" Steve said his tone full of warning.

"What is your problem?" Katie asked angrily as she stalked toward the woman. "I have done nothing but try to make sense of all of this and all you seem to want to do is bitch and throw around these snide remarks"

"Guys can we not do this now" Steve said walking between the two women. "I get we're all a little tired and frustrated, but-" Steve eyes caught something that shouldn't be. "That's not suppose to be there" without further explanation the man just walks off. Katie and Natasha share a look before following after him.

"Mind sharing with the rest of the class, Steve?" Katie asked as they walked over to one of the buildings.

"Army regulations forbid the storing of munitions within five hundred yards from the barracks" Steve said. "This building is in the wrong place" They walked to the door all searching for a way to open it, when suddenly Steve sent his shield into the lock.

"Who needs a key anymore" Katie muttered as Steve pushed open the door. They walked down stairs, not able to see anything in the darkness. Once they stepped off the last step, they just stood for a moment before Steve found a light switch. The lights flickered on and their eyes went straight for the emblem painted on the wall in front of them.

"This is SHIELD" Natasha said out loud.

"No" Katie replied sarcastically. "What was your first clue?" Natasha turned a glare to the woman.

"Hey, can we focus" Steve intervened once again. He had the feeling he was going to be doing this a lot. "Let's just look around" And so they began to search the ancient bunker.

"This must be where Shield started" Katie said walking up to the emblem on the wall. She shook her head before turning spotting a door. She walked over, Steve and Natasha behind her in to a room. They all stopped and looked up to the pictures that hung on the wall.

"Hey, is that-" Katie looked back to Natasha and Steve.

"Stark's father" Natasha replied.

"Howard" Steve said looking to the picture before looking to the one of the woman beside it.

"Who's the girl?" Natasha asked. Steve simply looked at the picture before turning and walking away.

"Agent Margaret Carter" Katie whispered turning to the one. "But everyone called her Peggy." A look of realization hit Natasha as she glanced over to Steve.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Natasha asked looking back to Katie.

"Hey, you guys gave me the key to all your important files and thought I wouldn't look" Katie replied with a shake of her head before walking over to see what Steve was doing. Katie looked over his shoulder to see wind blowing from behind a book case.

"If you're already working in a secret office..." Steve said before reaching out a hand and pushing the book case to reveal something hidden. "Why do you need to hide the elevator?"

"Maybe not everyone had secret elevator agent status" Katie said looking to the elevator. "Can I get some light here" Natasha pulled out her cell phone and shined it on the lock key pad. "It's old"

"Can you crack it?" Steve asked and both Katie and Natasha looked over to him. "What?"

"Don't say crack" Katie said with a slight shake of her head before turning to Natasha. "May I?" Natasha begrudgingly places her cell phone in Katie's hand. "So SHIELD phones are tricked with some very cool shit-" she looked over Steve. "Sorry for my language Captain, I mean some nifty doodads" she looked back down to the phone as she began typing away. "But they had their limitations, which is why my bright ideas, when it came to them, was welcomed with open arms. Some I started, and didn't quite finish." she turned the phone to the key pad and they all watched as the phone seemed to scan for fingerprints finding the patterned type. Once it found the correct code, Katie reached out and entered the code and soon the doors were sliding open. They all stepped on in silence and once the doors slid closed they felt the elevator move.

"You know you could've just done without the whole back story" Natasha said and Katie glanced over to her. "It was unnecessary and a waste of time"

"Well your face is unnecessary and a waste of time, but do you hear me complaining?" Katie asked.

"Guys!" Steve snapped once again coming between the women. "This stops now. We're a team and that means the bickering and petty insults stop right now" Both women continue to stare at one another before turning to Steve. "I don't know what this is about, but right now we have bigger problems, so how about whatever issues you two have we put them on the back burner, got it?"

"Got it" Katie muttered glancing over to Natasha before turning to face the doors.

"Got it" Natasha replied turning away as well.

"Good" Steve said letting out a tired sigh. The elevator ride was once again silent, until they felt the elevator stop and the doors slide open.

"More dark rooms" Katie muttered as they walked inside. The moment they walked further inside lights flickered on and it seemed that they stepped through time as they looked to the ancient looking equipment. "psychedelic" Katie walked over to the one of the computers.

"This can't be the data point" Natasha said walking over as well and glancing around the room. "This equipment is ancient"

"Not everything" Katie said looking down to a USB port. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the drive from he pocket before plugging it into the port. Soon all the devices came to life. They all looked around to see if something would happen, then suddenly a robotic voice spoke.

They all turned to the computer in front of them.

"Initiate system?" the voice asked.

"And an AI to boot" Katie said walking over to the computer and typing. "Y-E-S" Katie said before looking back up to the screen. "Do you want to play a game" she says playfully before turning over her shoulder. "It's from-" neither look to be in the joking mood so she just shakes her head. "Never mind" Katie takes a step back as something begins forming on the screen. Soon a pixelated face appears.

"Rodgers, Steven. Born 1918" the accented voice says before the camera atop of the screen moved toward Katie. "Chambers, Katherine. Born 1981." The camera moved again, this time aimed at Natasha. "Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984."

"Freaky" Katie mutters looking to the camera.

"It must be some kind of recording" Natasha guessed.

"I am not a recording, fräulein" The recording replies. "I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am." Suddenly a photo appears on the computer screen on the side of a man.

"You have got to be kidding me" Katie mutters as she tilts her head to the picture.

"Do you know this thing?" Natasha asked.

"Arnim Zola" Steve replied as he walked around the computer to see if this was really happening. "He was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years"

"Actually he's Swiss" Katie corrected turning her eyes back to the pixelated figure on the screen.

"Correct you are Ms. Chambers, and Captain Rodgers look around, I have never been more alive"

"Want to tell us how that is?" Katie asked.

"In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind however was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of databanks" The scientist recounted. "You are standing in my brain."

"I'm not sure if I'm impressed or freaked out right now" Katie said looking at the wiring of the computers trying to figure out how this was possible.

"How did you get here?" Steve asked.

"It was Operation Paper clip" Natasha said and both Katie and Steve look over to her. "After World War II, SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value"

"Of course they did" Katie said turning back to the computer. "And it would seem Zola's value extends way past his life span, though inviting the enemy in your house seems like a very stupid thing to do"

"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own."

"Case and point" Katie said pointing to the screen.

"HYDRA died with Red skull" Steve pointed out still trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Cut off one head, two more shall take it's place" Zola replied, the HYDRA emblem flashing on the screen. Katie turned away, the pieces slowly falling into place.

"I can't believe this" Katie muttered.

"We don't know anything yet" Steve said turning back to Zola. "Prove it"

"Accessing archive" Zola's voice says and they all turned to listen to the story none of them thought they would ever hear.

Tony Stark was not a man who took rejection well. He usually got what he wanted in a timely fashioned. At the moment that wasn't happening.

"Search it again!" Tony snapped.

"Sir, I have searched all of SHIELD's databases that I have access to and there is no mention of Mr. Banks in any of them" JARVIS replied and Tony groaned in frustration.

"There has to be something" Tony said standing to his feet.

"Tony, I think it's time we did what we've been avoiding" a voice says from behind him. Tony turns to see Bruce standing at the doorway. "We're not going to find anything, because SHIELD won't let us. That's never been a problem for one person"

"We tell her and you know what she's going to do" Tony said turning back to the hologram in front of him. "She's going to storm in there and that's what they want"

"You know what I don't get" Bruce says walking beside Tony. "Why?" Tony looked over to the man waiting for him to elaborate the question. "Why do they want her so bad?"

"I don't know" Tony said turning back to the screen. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. "What if it isn't her they want?" he turned back to Bruce. "I mean they sent someone to find her father, what if he was the one they wanted?"

"I'm not following" Bruce said.

"What if Martin had information they wanted, but was killed before they could get it" Tony replied.

"And now they think that Katie may know what it is" Bruce added and Tony simply nodded. "They've put a lot of effort into this, whatever they're looking for, must be big." Tony looked to the computer as well. "Still doesn't change the fact that she may be the only key to getting Matthew back" Tony looked back over to his friend.

"I know" Tony sighed running a hand through his hair. They both turned at the sound of the dinging elevator and soon Clint walked into the room. "Tell me you got something"

"Nothing" Clint said with a shake of his head. "Everyone back at HQ is moving carefully. With Pierce in charge, no one knows what the hell is going on. Any luck accessing SHIELD'S files?"

"None, they've change up their security since our last B&E. There's no way around it" Tony replied. They all stood in silence just staring up to the blinking "ACCESS DENIED" message.

"We need Kat, don't we?" Clint asked breaking the silence.

"It would look that way" Tony sighed.

Katie turned her back and closed her eyes as Zola's words continued playing in her head. Sometimes the truth was a hard pill to swallow and right now, Katie's brain was just racing.

"The new HYDRA grew." His voice said now making her skin crawl. " A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."

"That's impossible, SHIELD would've stopped you!" Natasha interrupted.

"Would they?" Katie asked turning back to them. Natasha and Steve both looked over to her. "C'mon you can't tell me this doesn't make just an ounce of sense"

"All this time, somebody would've know something" Natasha said turning back to the screen.

"Accidents will happen" Zola's voice taunted and suddenly them images of deceased SHIELD members appeared. The faces of Howard and Maria Stark appeared, along with Director Fury. Katie clasp a hand over her mouth when a picture of her father appeared on the screen. " HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum." In anger Steve slams his shield into the screen cracking it, only for Zola's face to appear on another screen.

"As I was saying" his voice says.

"I can't be here right now" Katie said shaking her head. For so long she wanted to know the truth behind her father's death and she thought she knew, she thought she had the answers, but she was now realizing that she didn't.

"Hey" Natasha says and Katie looks over to her. "Remember" It may have only been one word, but Katie didn't miss it's meaning. She had to remember who she was and that she was in control of her emotions. Katie took a deep breath and looked over to Zola's face.

"What's on the drive?" Steve demanded.

"Project insight required insight, and so I wrote an algorithm" replied Zola.

"What kind of algorithm?" Katie asked coming along side Steve.

"The answer to your question is fascinating. " Zola replies. "Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it." They all turn just as the doors begin sliding close. Steve throws his shield in an attempt to stop it, but it's no use.

"Not good" Katie says turning to Steve as he catches his shield. "What now?"

"I got a bogey" Natasha says looking down to her phone. " Short range ballistic, thirty seconds tops"

"Who shot it?" Steve asks.

"Does it really matter!" Katie snapped looking for cover.

"Shield!" Natasha answered anyway.

"I'm afraid I have been stalling Captain" Zola's annoying voice taunts.

"Natasha, the flash!" Katie calls and Natasha quickly grabs the USB and pockets it. Steve turns noticing a grate in the floor and reaches down and picks it up, tossing it aside.

"Katie!" Steve calls for her to come over to him. He quickly turns as Natasha jumps into his arms. The last thing he sees before the explosion is Katie running in his direction.

They were lucky. That was the single thought Steve had as her carried a barely concious Natasha down the tunnel that was under the grate. The moment he saw the faint glimmering of light, he knew that he'd found their salvation. He pulled Natasha out of the tunnel and looked around to see that they ended up just outside the camp grounds. His eyes went back down to the tunnel in hopes that Katie had made it, that she was right behind him, but as he stood there, no one came out.

"Katie!" Steve called his voice slightly echoing.

"What's going on?" Natasha's voice nearly startled him. He turned to see the woman trying to stand to her feet.

"Hey, easy" Steve said helping her to her feet.

"Where's Sparrow?" Natasha asked noticing the woman's absence. Steve looked over to her and shook his head before looking back down into the tunnel. "No" Natasha attempted to go back down the tunnel but Steve caught her arm. "She doesn't die like that" she turned her eyes to Steve. "Not after all of this, she doesn't just die in a hole" Steve had to physically pull her away from the tunnel. "Let me go!"

"Natasha stop!" Steve said grabbing her arms and looking down to her. The woman was exhibiting emotions he'd never seen in the seemingly stoic woman. "She's gon-"

"Anybody there!" a familiar voice echoed and both Steve and Natasha quickly ran over to the tunnel. "Steve! Natasha!"

"We're here!" Steve called back.

"I'm stuck!" Katie called back. "Between a rock and a hard place literally!" Steve let out a chuckled before throwing down his shield.

"I'm coming!" Steve called as he climbed into the tunnel. Natasha waited for only a few moments until Steve came back out, an arm around Katie as he helped her out of the tunnel. The moment Katie laid eyes on the woman, a big smile crossed her face.

"What?" Natasha asked.

"You like me" Katie sang as she pulled from Steve's grasp. "Steve told me what you said" Natasha glared over to Steve before turning and walking off toward the the spot where they'd park the truck. Katie and Steve stood and watched the woman retreating. "You do know that if either of us mention this, she will kill us"

"I'm aware" Steve replied before wrapping an arm around Katie before following after Natasha. They walked over to Natasha who was standing in front of the hole in the ground where they're truck used to be.

"Looks like we're walking" Katie said pulling from Steve's grasp. He was about to protest but she held up a hand. "I'm good" and so they began walking along side the road. They'd been walking for a while before they happened upon a bar. And said bar had a parking lot full of cars. "Alright Captain, do your magic" Katie said nearly pushing Steve toward the lot. "I don't think I can walk much longer."

The ride to DC was silent. It wasn't done purposefully. No one had any words after all the information they'd just received. Now it was all a matter of trying to make sense of it.

"Where are we going to go?" Katie asked breaking the silence as they crossed the state line back into DC. "Everyone's trying to kill us"

"Not everyone" Steve said glancing back to her. Both Natasha and Katie share a look before looking over to the Captain. "I know someone who might be able to help us"

That's how they ended up parked outside of Sam Wilson's house. Apparently he was a friend of Steve's who he often seen while jogging.

"You jog?" Katie asked her feet propped out of the window as they waited for Sam to come back. "Why, I mean can you even get into anymore shape?"

"It's therapeutic" Steve replied glancing over to Natasha who remained quiet as she glanced out of the window. Steve turned back to Katie. "Isn't there something you like to do that relaxes you?" Katie smiled about to reply but Steve held up a hand. "On second thought, don't answer that" Steve shook his head before turning back to Sam's house. "Katie, about your father-"

"Nope" Katie said turning to look out the window. Right now she was doing well with bottling up her emotions and didn't want to mess up a good thing. Just then Katie spots Sam just as he was running into the back door of his house. "There he is" They all stepped out of the car and walked toward the house when Natasha's phone began ringing. She pulled it from her pocket and looked down.

"It's Stark" she said before handing the phone to Katie. "I doubt it's me he wants to talk to. Take it, and we'll fill in Sam" Katie nodded before taking the phone and watching Steve and Natasha walk to the man's front door.

"You found me again, Mr. Stark" Katie greeted.

"_It's not Tony" Clint spoke. _

"Bart, what are you doing at Tony's place?" asked Katie as she turned to see Steve and Natasha step inside the house.

"_I didn't know where else to go since going back to HQ isn't an option" Clint said. "Did you find out what's on the flash?" _

"Almost, an attempted murder sort of interrupted us" Katie said.

"_Are you alright?" _

"I'm fine, it's just-" Katie sighed with a shake of her head. "Bart, we may not have found out what's on the flash, but we did find out something. Something I'm not comfortable saying over the phone"

"_Where are you, I can come to you?" _

"There are eyes on Tony and probably you at the moment. Right now it's not safe" Katie said. "Look as soon as we figure out the next play I will call you to keep you in the loop"

"_Alright" _

"So what's been happening since we've been gone, anything new?" Katie asked and Clint didn't say anything. Though the silence seemed to be answer enough. "Bart, what's going on, did something happen?"

"_Yeah" Clint said clearing his throat. "I'm just not sure how to tell you" _

"With words is usually effective" Katie replied. Clint was once again silent which on fueled Katie's nerves. "Bart, you're freaking me out, just say it"

"_It's Matthew, Kat" Clint said and Katie froze. "He's missing. We're not exactly sure-" _

"SHIELD has him" Katie said as a statement, not a question her voice taking on a different tone. This one low and very serious.

"_We think so" Clint replied. "Listen Kat-" _

"When?"

"_Uh, maybe twenty-four hours" Clint replied. "Kat, before you do something-" _

"Twenty four hours?" Katie asked. "And I'm just now being informed about this?" she shook her head as her fingers began twitching at her side. Her heart was pounding in her chest at the thought of her little brother in danger because of her.

"_We wanted to be sure, we-" _

"You do not keep these things from me!" Katie snapped. "I don't care about what you need, because what I need it to know where my damn brother is!" she ended the call and everything in that moment stopped. She closed her eyes trying to take deep breaths hoping that it would help, but images of what could be happening to her brother flashed into her mind. That's when she felt it. Her blood running cold as the thoughts kept coming. She snapped open her eyes and turned to Sam's house climbing the stairs and just opening the door, not bothering with wasting anytime knocking or even waiting for an invitation.

"Who are you?" Sam asked turning to Katie who stood there looking around the room, as if searching for something.

"She's with us" Steve said noticing the look on Katie's face. "Something's wrong?"

"Do you have a computer?" Katie asked turning to Sam.

"Uh, yeah." Sam replied. "Why?" he looked over to Steve and then Natasha wondering what was going on right now.

"How protected is it?"

"Protected?" asked Sam with a shrug. "Normal I guess."

"That's not good enough" Katie muttered turning and heading right back out the door.

"Katie, wait!" Steve said almost running to catch up to her. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. This close he could see her pained expression. "What's going on, what did Stark say?"

"It wasn't Tony, it was Bart" Katie said looking up to Steve's eyes. She would never say out loud, because it would sound weird, but she like Steve's eyes. They were honest and that was rare, especially with the people she found company with. "Matthew-" she shook her head. The words were playing over and over in her head, but for some reason couldn't just come out of her mouth. "My brother is missing" She turned back to Steve. "SHIELD has him"

"Are you sure?" Steve asked.

"Was I there when it happened, no" Katie replied before looking over his shoulder to Natasha who was walking over. "But ask our resident SHIELD savant here. In the middle of us trying to discover what SHIELD is hiding under their bed, my little brother disappears, is that coincidence or capture tactic" Steve turned and looked over to Natasha awaiting an answer as well. The assassin simply let out a sigh and looked back to Katie.

"Most likely she's right" Natasha said.

"Thanks and good day" Katie said before turning but Steve quickly grabbed her arm, but she snatched it away. "Will stop doing that"

"Yeah, as soon as you start using that brain of yours!" Steve replied. "If your brother is being held by SHIELD, then you waltzing in there to get him is what they want. It's a trap and I may not know much about this time, but I think voluntarily walking into a trap is still considered stupid-"

"Idiotic" Natasha asked.

"And you're neither" Steve said looking to Katie. "Look, I know you're worried about your brother, but if their intentions really are to capture you, then they won't hurt him"

"Yes they will" Natasha said and Katie looked over to her. "She knows they will. They know she knows they will, which is what they're hoping will fuel her rage and cause her to storm the castle"

"We have to play this smart" Steve said looking to Katie. "If what they don't want is for us to uncover Zola's algorithm, then that's what we do"

"Or we push too hard and they kill my brother" Katie said with a slight shake of her head before turning to Steve.

"Do you trust me?" Steve asked and Katie let out a sigh as she turned away from him. "I know things are not going the way we thought they would, but we are a team." She turned back to him. "Just give us a chance to fix this the smart way"

"What's the smart way?" Katie asked.

"That's what we were about to figure out" said Natasha before turning and heading back to the house. Steve looked back to Katie who simply gave him a nod before following him into Sam's house.

At first she thought a shower would at least make her feel better, but it didn't. Her head was still in that place and she didn't know how long she could hold on to rationality. They were in the kitchen, Steve, Natasha and Sam talking, while Katie only half listened as she stood by the window a mug of untouched coffee in her hands.

"So..." Natasha says glancing over to Steve. "The question is, who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?"

"Pierce" Katie says not turning to either of them. She had her suspicions of the man, and knew that there was something up with him, but it wasn't until this moment that she began to realize what it was.

"Who just happens to be sitting in the most secure building in the world" Natasha said.

"I wouldn't say the most secure" Katie muttered looking down to her cup. "A little time and I could get you in through the front door"

"What we don't have is time" Steve said and Katie turned back to him. "Look we know he's not working alone. Zola's algorithm was on the Lumurian Star."

"You know who else was on that ship?" Katie asked sitting her cup on the table and walking over to them.

"Jasper Sitwell" Natasha said.

"I should've known there was something up with that little shit" Katie muttered. "He kept his head so far up Pierce's ass, I'm surprise he can even walk"

"So the real question is, how do three of the most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?" Steve asks glancing over to Katie and then over to Natasha.

"The answer is ,you don't" Sam answered unexpectedly. They all turned to him waiting for an explanation when he suddenly tossed on the counter in front of Steve. "Call it a resume" He wanted in and apparently he had the credentials to back it up. Katie had once again zoned out as she turned back to look out the window. Her mind no longer thinking of what could be happening to Matthew, and now developing a plan in case all of this goes south.

"Where can we get our hands on one of these?" Steve asks and Katie glances back over to him. She walks around the counter and looks down to the photo. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall." Sam replied and Katie looked over to him. Steve simply looks over to Natasha who shrugs.

"Shouldn't be a problem" Steve says before looking to Katie who shakes her head and drops the file back on the counter. "Katie-"

"It's time" Katie said turning to Steve. "All of this, it's good, it's calculated, makes tons of sense, but it takes time. Matthew does not have time."

"What do you think will happen?" Natasha asked and Katie looked over to the woman. "You trade yourself for him and they just let him walk?" Natasha walked around the counter and planted herself in front of Katie. "I know emotions cloud logic, but right now you have to fight it and think. There's only one way we get your brother back and that's finding out how deep this goes"

"Katie, she's right" said Steve. Katie turned away when a thought came to her. She turned back to Steve and nodded.

"Right, you're right" Katie said turning to Natasha. "You should be going to Fort Meade" she looked over to Sam. "Where's your computer?" Sam just lifted a hand and pointed in the other room. Katie nodded and walked into the other room.

"She's up to something" Natasha said and Steve looked over to her.

"We'll keep an eye on her" Steve said before looking over to Sam. "You're going with Natasha"

"Aright, let me grab my jacket" Steve said turning back to Natasha.

"Watch her" Natasha warned before turning and head outside. Once Sam left as well, Steve walked into the other room to find Katie sitting behind Sam's computer.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked watching as Katie typed furiously.

"Accessing Sitwell's calender" Katie said as she stopped typing and read the screen.

"I thought you said Sam's computer wasn't safe" Steve said walking behind her. "Won't they track this"

"I'm using a ghost function, allowing me temporary access" Katie said grabbing a pen and paper and writing down the address. "Lunch with the Senator Stern" Katie said writing down the address, before typing again and letting the screen shut off. She stood to her feet and handed Steve the paper. "We know where he's going to be so just have Natasha and Sam meet us there" Katie was about to walk past Steve but he caught her arm.

"I can see it you know" Steve said and Katie turned to him with a look of confusion. "So much stuff being thrown at you and you're holding it in. You're cracking and sooner or later its going to break you"

"If I haven't broken by now Captain, I don't think it's going to happen" Katie said pulling from his grasp. "We're wasting time we don't have, so let's stop with all the touchy feely crap that's happening" And with that Katie stalked off.

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**A/N: It's happening. They're messing with her family and that only brings a different side to Katie. She's angry and like the captain said she's "Cracking" **

**GO TO PART II, but don't forget to...**

**Feed the author...your words are food for the soul. ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This chapter covers my favorite scene from the movie. It was just jam packed with so much action with the shooting and ass kicking and the big WTF reveal at the end. I really hope I was able to capture that here. Once again...**

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

* * *

Cracking? Was she cracking? Katie didn't feel like she was. Actually she wasn't feeling much of anything but anger which she thought she had under control.

Three hours after Katie's little heart to heart with Steve, she sat on the roof of a distant building looking down to the long range laser pointer in her hand. She looked down to her watch before turning and looking over the edge with binoculars. She spotted Sitwell and the Senator exiting the restaurant surrounded by Stern's security.

"You know I knew Stern was crooked, but I didn't know he was twisty pretzel crooked" spoke Katie as she looked over to Steve and Natasha beside her who were looking as well.

"Katie, when Sam brings Sitwell, I think you should let me and Natasha question him" Steve said turning to Katie whose look probably could kill a weaker man. "I just think you're still a little emotionally charged about your brother-" Katie stood to her feet and walked toward the door. "Katie!"

"I'm waiting downstairs!" She called not bothering to look back to him.

"Emotionally charged?" Natasha asked and Steve looked over to her and shrugged. "I'll go after her" Steve watched as Natasha followed after Katie.

Once the gray car pulled up Katie took a step forward only for Natasha to grab her and pull her away. Her initial reaction was to attack, but the woman seemed to be holding her in just the right position to make that difficult.

"Take him upstairs!" Natasha called over to Sam who nodded before walking to the trunk and pulling the agent out. Sitwell's eyes went wide as he looked to Katie and Natasha. Katie struggled to pull away, but the assassin had her locked in a tight grip. "Take him, now!" Once Sam pulled Sitwell through the doors and up to the room, Natasha slammed Katie's back against the brick wall. "Will you grow the fuck up, this is bigger than you and it's bigger than your brother" Katie shoved Natasha off of her.

"You know why we've never got along?" Katie asked. "Because whatever happened you, whatever you've been through,screwed your shit up. I know what the mission is Natasha, but I also know that if I lose Matthew then that's it." she turned and headed for the stairs. "I'll stay in line, but I'm getting answers." she muttered as she stepped up the stairs, Sam passing her as he comes back down. The moment she steps back on the roof, she see Steve holding Sitwell off the edge of the roof.

"Is this little display meant to insinuate that you can throw me off the roof?" Sitwell asked pompously. "Cause it's really not your style, Rogers."

"You're right, it's not" Steve replies as Natasha walks up from behind. "It's hers" Steve releases Sitwell, just as Natasha walks over and kicks the man off the room.

"And you think I would've went too far!" Katie snapped and they both turned to her. "Man off the roof, that's real tame" they all turned in time to see Sam in his full on falcon suit flying up Sitwell in his hands, before tossing the man back on the roof. "Hey Jasper, I think now would be a good time to start talking, because if I throw you off this roof, no one's going to catch you" And it would seem agent Sitwell was inclined to start talking. The man holds up his hands in surrender.

" Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing Insight's targets" Sitwell says.

"What targets?" asks Steve taking a step toward the man.

"You!" Sitwell says before turning to Katie. "You're at the top of the list. There's a TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future." That was interesting, Katie thought.

"Future?" Katie asked walking beside Steve. "What do you mean, how could it know?"

"How could it not" replied Sitwell with a sadistic laugh. "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it."

"What are you talking about?" Natasha asked.

"They're turning to extreme deduction" Katie said and they turned to her. "Isn't that right Jasp. Everything SHIELD has access to, bank records, medical histories, probably even what you got on your SAT's. You son of a bitch, you're predicting threat patterns"

"And then what happens?" Steve asks.

"Oh God, Pierce is going to kill me" Sitwell mumbled turning away.

"Hey!" Katie said grabbing the lapels of the man's jacket and pulling him to his feet. "Right now Pierce killing you should be the least of your worries, now talk!"

"Then the insight helicarriers scratch people off the list." Sitwell replies. "A few millions at a time."

"Mass murder" Katie said releasing the man "When does insight launch?"

"Sixteen hours" Sitwell says.

"We should go now" Natasha says glancing down to her watch.

"Right" Katie says before turning back to Sitwell. "One more question Jasper" Katie grabs the man's tie and pulls him toward the edge of the roof. "We have our information, so your survival is solely based on how you answer this next question." she grabbed the man by the collar once again. "My brother, Matthew Banks, where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Sitwell replied and Katie quickly grabbed the back of his head and slammed it into the concrete wall of the roof. She heard movement behind her and she turned. "I will toss him off of this roof, so if I were you, I'll wait until I'm done" her tone was once again different, unfamiliar. She turned back to Sitwell whose forehead was gashed and bleeding. "Oh, that's gonna scar, I don't think your head would be able to take another blow like that" she grabbed his jacket. "Let's try that again Jasper"

"I don't- I don't know where he's being kept" Jasper said reaching up to his bleeding head.

"Is he alive?" Katie asked.

"You know he is" Jasper replied. "Pierce wants you, that's all he's ever wanted"

"Why?" Katie asked. But before the man could answer, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her away.

"Take him down stairs!" Steve yelled as he held Katie in place. Natasha grabbed Sitwell by the arm and nearly dragged him to the stairs as Sam simply flew back down to the car. Steve spun Katie around. "That wasn't necessary!"

"To you maybe, but to me that was everything I needed from him" Katie said trying to step around Steve. "Let me go."

"No, because you're a risk" Steve said and Katie looked at him with wide eyes. "Right now you're scared and I understand, but we can't afford your fear messing this up" Katie snatched herself from Steve's arms.

"I know what's at risk!" Katie snapped. "I was standing there listening to every word Sitwell said. These are peoples lives, and I am fully aware, but if you don't think you can trust me to back you up, then I think this is that part where we part ways captain" Katie headed toward the door before stopping. Steve was probably right. She was probably bordering on reckless and when it came to peoples lives, that's not the person you want fighting by your side. She took a final deep breath before stepping through the door and down the stairs. Natasha stood outside of the car waiting when he saw Katie. The women shared a look before Katie turned away and walked down the opposite direction. Once Steve came down the stairs, Natasha turned to him.

"Her alone is dangerous" Natasha said and Steve simply looked down to Katie's quickly retreating for before turning back to Natasha. "You know that don't you?"

"Well for the time being, I'm still banking on her fighting for our side" Steve said before walking around and stepping into the passenger side of the car. He looked over to Sam. "We have to go" Sam simply nodded before pulling off.

Katie was walking, but stopped when she heard the sound of a car moving. She turned to see the others driving away. She had no idea what she was thinking blowing up like that. If there was one thing she knew, it was that this was one situation she wouldn't be able to beat alone. She simply shook her head about to turn when she noticed a black hummer that hadn't moved, start and follow behind the car. It just scream suspicious.

"Not good" Katie muttered before running down the alley until she reached the street in time to see the hummer getting further and further away. "Shit!" Katie looked around when she noticed a a guy pulling over on his motorcycle. "Alright" she quickly ran over to the man as he was climbing off of his bike. He was walking toward her looking quite confused, but soon that confusion turned to anger when Katie snatched his keys from his hand.

"Hey!" the man yelled whipped around to see Katie hopping on his bike, starting the engine and pulling off.

"I'll bring it back!" Katie yelled over her shoulder before speeding down the street. She was whipping and whirling in between cars trying to catch up to the others before they were caught. The moment she caught a look of the hummer in the distance, she let her feet press hard on the acceleration. She was only a couple of cars behind when she saw a man climbing out of the window of the hummer and making his way to the top. "What the hell?" Before she knew what was happening the man jumped from the hummer to the gray car that held her friends. Katie dipped over trying to speed around the cars in front of her, but she was too late. She looked up just in time to see the man slam a hand into the back window and pulled what looked like Jasper Sitwell from the vehicle and tossing him out like yesterday's trash. The car sped up and so did the hummer.

Katie's foot was pressed as far as it could go until she was right behind the hummer. It was that moment that she saw the man jump back onto the roof of the hummer. Katie gripped the handle bars trying to get as close as she could to the hummer. "This is stupid" she thought about what she was about to do. Before she could overthink it, she jumped up, her feet on the seat of the bike before leaping onto the back of the hummer. She was able to hold on to the back, but her legs swayed with the rapid movements of the vehicle. With all the strength she could muster, Katie pulled herself up to the top of the roof to see the man crouched on the hood of the car.

"Hey!" Katie yelled and he turned to her. That's when Katie was finally able to see the man who'd just jumped from car to car on a busy highway like it was nothing. He wore a mask that covered most of his face. "You must be the Winter Soldier" She looked over the man just in time to see the car that held her friends now flipping into the air. She stopped breathing in that moment and only started at the sight of Steve, Natasha and Sam flying out the side.

That's when the hummer came to a screeching halt. Katie held onto the sides, holding on for dear life until the vehicle stopped moving. The moment it did, the masked man turned back to her before jumping onto the roof. Katie pushed herself back, letting her body fall to the ground with hard thud. She quickly rolled under the hummer against her body's protest. She just laid there for a moment until she heard the sound of gunfire. Tilting her head, Katie saw the men from the hummer shooting at something, most likely her friends.

"Gotta move" Katie whispered before rolling from under the hummer. She opens the back door of the vehicle and climbs inside the backseat. There lined in the trunk are all different types of weapons. Katie grabs two hand guns and some spare clips before grabbing a couple of grenades and stuffing them in to her pocket. She loaded one of the hand guns and jumped out of the back seat. Katie was once again running, this time shooting as well. The moment guns were turned at her, Katie reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the grenades. "You should've locked your doors boys" before they could react she pulled the clip and tossed the grenade in their direction before running and jumping off the side of the overpass.

"Katie!" a voice yelled from behind her and she turned to see Natasha running toward her. "Move!" Katie nodded before running once again dodging gun fire. Katie caught a glimpse of something in a shadow on the street before stopping and tossing an arm stopping Natasha as well. Katie pointed to the shadow of a figure that seemed to be standing waiting for them. Natasha simply nodded before nudging her head for Katie to go one way and for her to go the other. Both women backed up slowly, before shooting up to the figure before running for cover behind a nearby truck. The gunfire was relentless, with not even a single hope of letting up.

"We have to move!" Katie called over to Natasha. The woman simply nodded before they turned and joined in with the fleeing citizens. "Natasha, I have an idea. Toss me your phone!" Katie recorded her voice, hoping to distract the man. After placing the phone on the side of an abandoned car, she and Natasha ran to hide.

"This won't work" Natasha whispers.

"Yes it will" Katie mutters back as they peek over the car to see the Winter Soldier, large gun in hand stalking down the street. "How much do you have?"

"I'm out" Natasha said glancing over to Katie. "You?"

"I think I dropped my spares when I was running" Katie said looking over to see the man getting closer. "Looks like we're going to have to go old school. You knock him on his ass and I'll keep the gun out of his hands" They watched as the man walked up, stopping at the sound of Katie's voice. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out an explosives, tossing it into the direction of the voice. The moment it explodes Natasha jumps on top of the car and leapt right on the man's back causing him to drop his gun. She pulled out a wire to try to strangle him, only for him to toss her off of his back. Katie runs around just in time to see the man try to reach for his gun. Katie quickly dropped to her feet and kicked it out of reach. He kicked a foot at her, but she rolled out of reach before jumping to her feet and glancing back to the man, this time able to see his blue eyes. And against her better judgment, she froze. His eyes went to her as well, and to her surprise he didn't instantly try to kill her. They both came back to reality as Natasha tossed a electric patch to the man's metallic armor. Katie took that chance to run over and help Natasha to her feet before they both quickly ran off.

"What the hell was that!" Natasha yelled looking over to Katie.

"I don't-" Katie said with a shake of her head. "I think I know him." she turned back to see people running in the streets. "Get out of the way!"

"You gotta get out of the way!" Natasha yelled when another shot rang so close, Katie thought it blew right past her ear. She heard a grunt from beside her, and turned to see Natasha grab her shoulder. Katie quickly grabbed the woman and pulled her behind a car for cover. "You should go" Katie looked over to the woman like she was crazy. "He's not going to stop"

"Neither am I" Katie replied peeking over the side of the car. "I"m not leaving you" she glanced back over to Natasha. "You maybe a major bitch, but I think I would shed a tear if something happened to you"

"Just one?" Natasha asked still gripping her shoulder.

"Maybe like a half of one" Katie said looking down to the woman whose eyes went wide. Katie turned following her gaze to see the Winter Soldier standing on top of a car, the barrel of his gun pointed right at them. Both thought that this was their end, but before they knew what was happening, Steve appeared tackling the man. Katie and Natasha watch the fight, seeing how both men are equally matched.

"You said you know him?" Natasha asked and Katie glances over to her for a second but turns to see the Winter Soldier grab Steve's shield. "How?"

"I don't know, his eyes-" Katie closes her eyes trying to rack her brain for those eyes. "I remember his eyes." And that's when it hit her.

_"Who are you?" a deep rough voice growled._

"_I'm nobody" Katie replied pulling at his hand, but he was strong. It was getting harder and harder to breathe and she knew soon she'd pass out. "Let me go" she ground out. "Please" the alarms stopped ringing and suddenly the lights came on, and Katie found a pair of blue eyes piercing through long dark locks of hair. They turned toward the door when they heard movement. "Please" he turned back to her. "Help me" he let out a growl before releasing his hand from her neck._

_"Under the bed" he ordered. _

Katie snapped open her eyes in time to see Steve toss the man over his shoulder and in that movement the man's mask flies off of his face. That's when Katie stands to her feet and moves a little closer to finally look to the man's face to see if her suspicions were right.

"Bucky?" Steve says looking to the man with utter shock and confusion. Katie looks over to Steve before turning back to the Winter Soldier.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" he says looking to Steve a slight confusion in his eyes before they turn to Katie. "Who?" he takes a step in her direction. "Who are you?" Steve moved in Katie's direction, just as Sam came flying in kicking the man sending his flying. Bucky quickly jumped to his feet about to attack, when an explosive came flying in his direction. They turned to see Natasha leaning against a truck holding a rocket launcher.

The next few moments happened so fast that Katie could barely process it. Soon they were surrounded by SHIELD... or HYDRA agents, guns pointed at them forcing them to the ground. Katie felt her arms being pulled behind her back with unnecessary force before she's picked up and pushed to van.

"I get the honors of capturing the unconquerable Sparrow" the agent purred in Katie's ear before lifting her into the van where she and the others are tossed into the back, two masked agents sitting with them, guns in hands.

"It was him." Steve muttered and they looked over to the man who couldn't even lift his head. "He looked right at me and didn't even know me"

"How is that possible?" Sam asked. "It was like seventy years ago"

"Zola" Katie says looking over to them before turning to Steve. "I read about Zola experimenting on soldiers, maybe Bucky was one of them" she shook her head as she turned away letting her head fall back on the side of the van. It was just now hitting her that Bucky Barnes was the one who saved her when she was lost and broken in the black.

"When I had nothing, I had Bucky" Steve says.

"Katie" Natasha says looking over to the woman. "You want to share now? How do you know Bucky?" All eyes turn to Katie.

"Because he saved my life" Katie said turning to Steve. "He was in Operation BLACK and he helped me" she shook her head. "I didn't know-"

"It's not your fault" Steve said leaning his shoulder against Katie's. Katie nods before looking over to Natasha and her bleeding shoulder.

"You're going to need a doctor" Katie says before turning to one of the masked agents. "Look at her, she needs a doctor." Suddenly one of the guards pulled out an electric baton. Everyone froze as they watched the guard hit the other guard before kicking him in the face knocking them out. Their eyes went to the guard as she takes off her helmet and to their surprise it was Maria Hill.

"That thing was squeezing my brain" Maria said before looking to Sam. "Who's this guy?" she looks to the others.

"Was there a reason you just sat there?" Katie asked and Maria looked over to her and just smiled.

"It's good to see you too Sparrow" Maria said before pulling the keys from her pocket. "But we'll have time for greetings later, now we have to go"

* * *

**A/N: The moment it was revealed that Bucky was the Winter Soldier, I nearly lost my shit. But I kept it together and got through the rest of the movie. Now Katie recognizes him as well, but did he recognize her? I guess we'll find out soon. **

**Side note: I know Katie and Natasha's relationship is a bit complicated. Do they like each other, do they hate each other, if given the chance would they kill each other? All are valid questions, but I think their relationship isn't definable. They're like bickering sisters who can't stand each other, but do respect each other and when the situation calls for it, they know the others strength and can quickly adapt a plan. But in this chapter and in the last you see that they do care for the other, even if they'd probably never admitted it. **

**Feed the author... Your review fuel my fingers. ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Um, so it's been a while. There's a reason. (You probably won't like it). But first...**

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

* * *

_She was one weird girl. That was the single thought Matthew had on the day he laid eyes on his sister. He didn't expect her. He really didn't expect any of it. He spent most of his life going from home to home, foster parent to foster parent, each with their own issues. He'd only met the Banks a week ago and to be honest they seemed too good to be true. He had his own room and they bought him cool things, sure they were weird some times, whispering when they thought he wasn't paying attention, but they were adults and to him all adults were just weird. But it would seem there were some weird kids too, he found that out one rainy afternoon. _

_He was sitting in the living room watching cartoons when the doorbell suddenly rang. He looked over his shoulder to see his new parents sharing a look he wasn't quite familiar with before they both rushed to the door. He couldn't see who walked in, but he heard a new voice. _

"_Matthew, come over here, we want you to meet someone" Evelyn called waving the boy over. Matthew stood to his feet, but didn't move. He was still a bit unsure of how he should behave. In the last foster home he was in he practically got yelled at for breathing too loud. "It's alright, come on" Evelyn smiled at him the way no one had ever smiled at him before. He smiled a bit before walking over to see an older lady, standing beside someone who wore a hood hiding their face. "Matthew I want you to meet your sister" Evelyn wrapped an arm around the boy pulling him closer. "This is Katie" Matthew looked up to the girl tilting his head in an effort to see her face, but he was unsuccessful. _

"_Come now Katie" the older woman said placing a hand on Katie's shoulder only for the teenager to shake it off. "Take off your hood, meet your new family" the girl didn't move and the woman simply smiled before leaning to whisper something in Katie's ear. He heard the girl let out an audible sigh before reaching up and pulling off the hood reveal a young girl with a mess of a pony tail piled on top of her head. _

"_Mr. and Mrs. Banks, I have some last minute paper work I need you to fill out" the older woman said digging in her briefcase. _

"_Of course" Christopher Banks said inviting the woman inside. "Please come in" They walked into the living room and Evelyn turned to Matthew and Katie. _

"_You two introduce yourselves and get to know each other" Evelyn said smiling down to both children before turning and walking over to the others. Matthew and Katie stood there, the young boy staring up to the girl whose eyes were on the floor, her hands stuffed in her pockets. She glanced up to see him staring and quirked an eyebrow. _

"_What?" she asked finally speaking. "What are you staring at?" Matthew didn't say anything as he continued staring at her. She shook her head. "Of course I get stuck with the weirdo kid" Matthew let out a snort and she turned back to him. "What?" _

"_I was kinda thinking the same thing" Matthew said cracking a smile. Katie sighed, but couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips. _

Water splashed against Matthew's face jolting him awake. The moment his eyes opened it took him a few moments to realize that it wasn't a dream. That he was tossed in the back of a van, taken to an undisclosed location, when a weird masked man would beat the crap out of him for his snarky comments.

He lifted his head to see one of the goons from before holding a tray of what he guessed was some type of food.

"Time to feed the puppy" The guard said with a slight chuckle before letting the tray hit the floor and turning and stalking out of the cell. Matthew sat up from the bed, every movement seeming painful. He cracked his neck as he let his eyes scan around the room. At first he had hope that this wasn't going to last long. He was friends with the smartest members of the Avenges. He assumed that he'd be rescued by now, but nothing. After the first couple of hours he began to realize that a rescue wasn't happening anytime soon and that he if he was going to get out of there, then he was going to have to do it himself.

_Young Katie stood with her hands stuffed into her pockets shaking her head at the young boy in front of her. She looked over to the adults in the room and sighed. _

"_They're not that bad" Matthew said and she looked back over to him. "I mean this is the best house I've been in a while" _

"_How many families have you been with?" Katie asked and Matthew simply shrugged. He was young, but he'd seen a lot of houses, too many to count. _

"_What about you?" Matthew asked. _

"_This is my first foster family" Katie replied looking down to the floor again. _

"_Where were you before this?" Matthew asked. _

"_With my-" Katie's words stopped in her throat. Since her father's death it had become her mission to forget him. It was her belief that she couldn't feel sad, that she couldn't feel the pain if she didn't remember him. And so the first step was pretending as if he didn't exist. "It doesn't matter" they stood there once again in an awkward silence. _

"_You're my sister now" Matthew said unexpectedly and Katie didn't know what to say. "That's what they said before you got here, that I was going to have a sister" he cracked a small smile. "I never had a sister before" _

"_I never had a brother before" Katie replied. _

"_So what now?" Matthew asked. _

"_Now, we survive"_

"_Together?" Matthew asked and Katie looked unsure for a moment. _

"_Yeah" she replied with a nod. "Together" _

The SUV came to stop and Katie snapped open her eyes. In true Maria Hill fashion, her rescue mission was impeccable. They cut the the floor out of the SHIELD van, slipping down into the sewer underneath. The walked for a while until climbing back to the streets where they were met by the SUV. They'd been driving for nearly and hour and were now stopping. They all climbed out and peered up to the massive secret facility that seemed to be strategically placed in the middle of nowhere. The others continued behind Maria, but Katie stayed behind. She couldn't help but feel her self moving further away from her brother and that was the last thing she wanted. Too much time was passing, and with every passing minute her brother's life was on the line. She looked to the facility before letting her eyes scan the the area. Every fiber in her body wanted to run, wanted to go find her brother and bring him back to safety.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't" A voice spoke and Katie turned back to the facility to see Maria standing with her arms folded across her chess.

"My brother-"

"We know" Maria interrupted. "We're sorry that he was brought into this, but you knew the repercussions when you were brought into SHIELD"

"I didn't know that my brother would be kidnapped by the people I decided to work for!" Katie snapped. "I didn't know that the people I chose to follow would turn out to be the enemy!" She stalked over to the agent. "I needed to feel something other than the emptiness left behind after my father's death, I felt alone and he -" she brought her eyes back to the woman and remembered to cap the emotion. She remembered that at the moment she didn't have the luxury to just break down and cry despite how badly she wanted to. "There's a plan"

"Yes" Maria said with a slight nod. "You may want to come inside" Katie looked confused for a moment before following after the woman inside. They walked down a dark hall, the only light coming from a couple of lights up above.

"Maria I don't have time-"

"You're going to make some" Maria commented over her shoulder as they walked upon a plastic curtain. Maria pulled it aside and moved so Katie could walk inside. Katie didn't know what to expect, but the moment she stepped inside the room seeing Nick Fury alive and laying in a hospital bed was not one of them.

"I was wondering when you were going to be making your grand entrance" Fury said looking up to Katie who still seemed to be staring at him with wide eyes. She looked around at the eyes on the director that looked just as surprised as she. Katie turned to meet his eyes once again, before taking a slight step back. She couldn't understand it, but she once again had the undeniable urge to just run away. It was the hand on her back that stopped her. She glanced over her shoulder to see more familiar faces.

"Bart?" she said looking up to Clint's face.

"Bart?" Tony said walking in from behind the curtain. "Is he the only one you see?" he glanced over to Fury who simply shook his head as he looked to the scientist. "You look like crap Nicky, well I guess almost dying and then faking your death would do that to a person"

"Mr. Stark" Fury greeted before looking over as Bruce walked in as well. "Well it looks like we're all here, well all who live on the planet earth"

"So you're alive?" Bruce asked looking over to the medical equipment around the director. "What's the damage?" They listened as Fury told the tale of how he faked his death.

Katie once again took a slight step back, but Clint's hand on her back was still there. He looked over to her.

"Are you ok?" he asked and she simply shook her head.

"Why all the secrecy?" Steve asked and they turned to listen to the director's answer.

"Any attempt made on the director's life had to look successful" Maria stated.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead" Fury added. "Plus I wasn't sure who to trust" Katie let out a snort, and in such a small room it didn't go by unnoticed. All eyes went to her and she looked to Fury. "I think I owe you-"

"Don't" Katie said holding up a hand. "Don't apologize, because I don't need your apologies." she looked to the eyes on her. "A and B happened and now we're at C. So what's next?" No one said anything, and that only made her angry.

"I think I would like to speak with Ms. Chambers alone if you all don't mind" Fury said before looking over to Maria. "Hill show them to the briefing room" Maria nodded before moving toward the hall, but no one else moved.

"Guys" Maria said and suddenly they began following after her. Clint stayed by Katie's side while the other filed out. Tony walked over and stopped in front of her.

"Do you want me to stay?" Tony asked ignoring the obvious glare that Clint was sending him.

"I'm not sure I want to stay" Katie muttered looking over to Fury.

"Hey, you say the word and we're out of here" Tony said and Katie gave him a small smile before turning to Clint. "He doesn't get to come. If I wasn't recording his calls, we wouldn't have known about this little get together"

"This wasn't supposed to be a get together" Clint said his voice portraying his obvious annoyance. "Too many people leads to leaks, you're not supposed to be here"

"Well he is!" Fury snapped and they looked over to the man. "All of you are and now we must continue in accordance, but right now I'm going to need for you two to leave" Clint and Tony turned back to Katie who gave them a nod that it was ok before they both turned and walked out.

"I've been thinking about this conversation" Fury said looking over to Katie who kept her distance from his bed. "About what I would say to you right now."

"You could start with how we plan on getting my brother away from your psychotic coworkers" Katie said. "Right now that's all I'm interested in"

"You're still so much like him" Nick said and Katie looked over to him confused. "Your father, he refused to show weakness too-"

"Will you stop!" Katie snapped stalking over to stand on the side of the man's bed. "Right now I do not need for you to tell me how much like my father I am, I don't need a pep talk or some "you were right" speech, so do us all a favor and get out of that bed and lets get down to business" and with that Katie stalked out of the room. She walked down the hall in search of the others when she caught sight of the door. There it was again. That nagging temptation in the back of her head to just run away from them.

"Hey" a voice said startling her. She turned to see Clint walking over to her. He glanced over to the door and then back to her with a look as if he just knew what was going through her head. "Look I know-"

"No you don't know!" Katie snapped stepping back out of his attempt to touch her. "You all want me here, to stay still when I should be out there finding him, saving him."

"What do you think we want?" Clint asked. "We want to find Matthew and we want to get HYDRA out of SHIELD, but we do it together, we always do it together" She scoffed and shook her head and turning her back to him. "What?"

"We always do it together?" she repeated turning back to him. "I think the last year and a half sort of debunks that theory. For the last year and a half I was alone because the people I trusted thought I was crazy or a traitor and wanted to lock me up in cell for the rest of my life!"

"We're sorry, but you can't blame anyone for having doubts!" Clint snapped. "This-all of this, you have to admit that if you weren't standing here in it you wouldn't believe it."

"You're right, I don't blame you, but I'm also not kidding myself, just because the truth is out and we're all in the same room doesn't mean the bands' back together!" Katie said. She felt her heart racing in her chest. Those emotions she was trying her hardest to put a cap on were threatening to spill over and she couldn't let them. Not now. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "This solves nothing, this-" She shook her head. "This wastes time, lets just find the others and figure out the next move" Katie moved to walk past him, but Clint caught her arm and pulled her flush against his chest. She glanced up to see him staring down to her, his green eyes burrowing into her soul as they always did.

"Whether you believe it or not, we are in this together" Clint said. "The people in that room have your back" she felt his hands slide to her hips. "I have your back. If you don't know anything, if you doubt everything else, don't doubt that"

"Everything alright?" a new voice appeared and they turned to see Tony staring quizzically at the pair.

"Everything's fine Stark" Clint said that annoyance growing. "This was a private conversation, so how about you-"

"It's alright" Katie interrupted. "We should join the others anyway, I'm sure the director's should be almost ready" and with that she moved past them down the hall. Both men watched her before turning back to each other.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Clint asked looking over to the man. "Whenever she's around you have the need to attach yourself to her and every little detail of her life" Clint took a dangerous step close to the man. "You need to figure out this fascination you have with her and you need to get over it."

Once Fury changed they all sat around the square table and recounted all the new found information they had discovered. Fury looked down to the open folder in front of him and pull out an old picture of Pierce. Katie's eyes kept going to the black case that sat in front of him.

"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." Fury tossed the picture on the table and looked up to the team. " See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch" Clint said looking over to the director.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore" Fury replied before flipping open the case to revealing three computer chips.

"What's that?" Steve asked looking down to the chips.

"You are a man out of time" Tony said leaning forward to look at the chips. "They're server blades. Think instant off button" Tony looked over to Fury. "Am I right?"

"Once the helicarriers reach three thousand feet" Maria said before turning her computer to reveal a diagram of the carriers. "They'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized." Maria explains glancing over to Katie whose eyes are now looking down to her hands.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace the targeting blades with are own" Fury said glancing over to Katie as well.

"Three carriers, three blades" Bruce says sitting back in his seat and folding his arms over his chest. "I guess one or two just won't cut it?"

"Right, doctor" replied Maria. "We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die."

" We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA." stated Fury. "We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left..."

"Salvage?" Katie spoke for the first time since this little meeting began. "HYDRA is a cancer that snuck in under your nose and now it has spread and nobody in this room knows how far" She glanced between their faces as they looked to her. "In this situation, it is my opinion that there is no salvaging SHIELD" she brought her eyes to Fury. "A year and a half ago maybe, but now, now there's nothing we can do"

"She's right" Steve said looking to the director. "We're not just taking down carriers, we have to take down SHIELD"

"SHIELD has nothing to do with it!" Fury snapped glancing from Steve to Katie.

"You gave me a mission, this is how it ends" Steve countered. "SHIELD has been compromised. And you said it yourself, HYDRA was right under your nose and one person noticed" Steve turned to Katie who simply turned away. "And we didn't listen."

"I listened" Fury said and Katie glanced over to him. "Why do you think we're meeting in a cave?"

"And how many people had to die before we got here?" Katie asked. "How many people are going to die because we're trying to attack this thing at the last minute?"

"I'm sorry about your brother-"

"I don't need you to apologize, I'm not that kind of person!" Katie snapped. "What I need for you to see is that it's time to euthanize SHIELD and HYDRA, because at this point we can't differentiate between the two"

"SHIELD, HYDRA it all goes" Steve said firmly. Fury looked to the man and then over the faces of the team before him. No one said anything, but the looks on their faces was answer enough. They all were in agreement with what had to happen next.

"He's right" Maria said vocalizing what everyone was thinking.

"Well" Fury said sitting back in his chair and looking over to Steve. "Looks like you're giving the orders now" Steve opened his mouth to reply but a ringing phone interrupted him. They all looked between one another trying to find the source.

"It's me" Tony said snaking the phone from his jacket.

"Stark I thought I made it perfectly clear that this place stays off the grid" Maria said angrily. "That means no outside tech"

"And I told you Agent Hill-" Tony said glancing down to his phone as he stood to his feet. "Nobody traces me. Well no one whose not already here" he quickly brought the phone to his ear and walked out of the room.

"I have to find my brother" Katie spoke and they looked over to her. "I get it. Disabling those carriers is the main priority, saving lives is the goal of this mission, but I just can't let my brother die because of me" she looked between the director and Maria. "If that makes me some sort of flight risk-" she shook her head. "If you think I would be better off not being apart of this mission let me know now, because this is what I"m doing." Fury and Maria shared a look before Maria stood to her feet.

"Come with me, I'll show you what we have so far" Maria said. Katie nodded before standing to her feet as well. She glanced over to Clint who remained in his seat, but he gave her a nod as he watched her leave. Katie and Maria walked into the hall where they spotted Tony pacing.

"No, don't worry Happy, call for the jet, I want to leave in thirty" Tony ended the call and turned to Katie and once he did, she could see the concern laced into his features.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked walking over to him.

"Pepper, she-" Tony could barely speak. "There was an accident. There was this car and it ran a red light, she-"

"Tony" Katie said placing a hand on his arm. "Is she alright?"

"Happy said she was banged up pretty bad. She was in surgery when I spoke to him" Tony said and Katie could felt his hands twitching at his side. "I have to-"

"Of course, go" Katie said giving his arm a reassuring squeeze.

"What about-" Katie cut him off as she grabbed the back of his head and pulled his forehead to lean on his.

"Tony Stark you are going to get your ass on that plane and you're going to go be with the woman you love" said Katie. "We will handle this." She pulled back and gave him a small smile. "I'll get your PA back"

"What's wrong?" a new voice asked and they turned to see Bruce.

"Pepper's been in an accident and Tony has to go be with her" Katie said. "And you're going to go with him" she turned to Tony who looked confused. "We're about to take down an evil corporation, I doubt we'll need a hulk to do that" Bruce nodded and they turned to Maria.

"I'll get you a car" Maria said before taking out her phone.

"Look kitten, just because I'm leaving doesn't mean you do something stupid" Tony said. "You play this game smart and you come out the other side alive, got it?"

"I'll try my best" Katie replied before bringing the man in a hug and placing a kiss to his cheek. Soon Tony and Bruce were gone and Katie stood looking up to a wall of monitors each playing the same image from different angles. It was a satellite feed showing her brother being grabbed and tossed into a van. One thing caught her eye and it was the masked man who seemed to be leading the entire thing.

"We've come up with a couple of possibilities for where they could be keeping him" Maria said standing beside Katie. "We haven't gotten anything concrete yet"

"He's going to be at HQ" Katie spoke. "He's Pierce's insurance" she looked over to Maria who waited for her to continue. "If Pierce is anything, he's smart. He knows that I'm coming for my brother, he also knows that by now we know the truth about Project Insight. He's going to have my brother right by his side when he does it."

"Distract you from the real problem" Maria said and Katie nodded. "Will it work?" Katie looked slightly confused. "You claim to know what's important, but if the moment happens when you're going to have to prove that, will you be able to"

"You're asking me that if at some point I'm forced to choose between saving my brother and stopping Insight, which one will I choose?" Katie asked and Maria nodded. Katie's eyes went back to the monitors that were freeze on the moment her brother was grabbed. "I can't answer that" she shook her head. "Not now, not when my head and my heart have their own opinion on the matter."

"I guess it becomes a question of which one is more influential" said Maria. "Your head or your heart?"

"Well when I know, you'll know" Katie said looking over to the woman. "We should get back to the others, I'm sure a plan is already in the works" Maria nodded and both women turned and headed for the door. Katie cast one final glance to the screen as she left the room.

Matthew used the spoon from his tray and tried unscrewing the bolts from the door. It was a long shot, but at the moment was the only plan he had. There was movement on the other side of the door and he quickly jumped to his feet, grabbing the food tray and moving behind the door. He remained quiet as the door opened and in walked the guard from before. The guard seemed to be looking around the room when he turned at a whistle from behind him. Matthew swung the tray into the man's face hard, knocking him out. Once the guard hit the ground, Matthew dropped the tray and ran out of the room. He found himself in an unfamiliar hall of doors. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he couldn't stop running. Every bone in his body ached, but his feet kept moving, especially when he suddenly heard the sounds of guards behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see if they were close. His momentary distraction had done him in when he suddenly ran into someone who pushed him off his feet. Matthew dropped to the floor on his butt and looked up to see a man standing there glaring down to him. The man's fists were clenched at his sides before he reached down and grabbed a fist full of Matthew's shirt and pulled him to his feet. Matthew glanced over to the man who was nearly dragging him down the hall, when he realized who he was. It was the masked man from before, only this time he was sans mask.

"Who are you?" Matthew asked and the man didn't says a word. "Where are you taking me?" Bucky simply glanced in Matthew's direction and simply spoke six words.

"We're going to see the boss"

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**A/N: Next chapter is the SHIELD/HYDRA take down, which should be exciting. **

**I'm soooo sorry for the wait, but my life is a bit hectic right now since I'm going out of town soon and have been too preoccupied with the preparing. Which is the reason I probably won't be able to update this for a while. I'll be gone for a couple of weeks and won't have access to my computer. I will be back though, so don't leave me. For now though, I wanna hear your thoughts, predictions, hopes and dreams for the future of this story. **

**Feed the author...I'm dying to hear what you think ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So...yeah, sorry about the wait. Went on a vacation, came back and my head could not get back into this story. But I kept at and finally reclaimed my groove. Here' s your update. **

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

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They had a plan. It was well calculated, but there was always room for error. Katie wanted to reduce that margin as much as she could. And so she worked to perfect her part of the mission. That's why she stood in front of a monitor typing furiously. Once the final entry was entered, she stopped and let her eyes scan over the code.

"It's done!" she yelled and soon lab techs began circling. "I want that downloaded immediately" They nodded and went right to work. Katie stood there, now with nothing more to do until development was complete. She hated idle time. Because with idle time, she was left with only her thoughts and at the moment her thoughts were not keeping her calm.

"How is it coming?" A voice asked from behind her and she turned to see Clint standing there holding out a paper cup to her.

"I'm done" Katie replied taking the cup graciously. "Now I wait until it's downloaded onto the suit"

"You sure this is going to work?" Clint asked and Katie simply shrugged.

"Right now it's the only option I have with getting into HQ undetected" Katie replied. "How are the others coming along?"

"All the necessary equipment is still coming in, but it shouldn't be long before we're ready to go" Clint said. Katie nodded and they simply stood there not sure of what to say next. "So, uh what are you doing now?"

"Now, nothing but waiting" Katie replied. "Why?"

"I just thought maybe you'd like to go for a walk to... I don't know clear your head" Clint said. "You've been on edge since we got here, maybe a little fresh air will help"

"Maybe" Katie said looking around the lab seeing that everything was being taken care of before turning back to Clint. "Sure" He nodded and they both headed out of the lab to the outside of the bunker. They were walking for a while along the river in silence. It was in that moment that they both realized the awkwardness that had developed between them. After all this time had passed they didn't know how to act around each other which neither thought would ever happen.

"I'm sure Matt is going to be alright" Clint said suddenly breaking the silence. Katie glanced over to him. "I mean he's smart and very capable, if anyone can handle this situation it's him. He's like you in that way"

"You barely know my brother" Katie replied before taking a sip of her coffee. "And he has a big mouth and people with big mouths tend to get hit a lot. I'm speaking from experience" She shook her head and turned to look out to the water. "Nothing can happen to him"

"It won't" Clint said with certainty. Katie looked over to him and gave him a slight smile before turning back to the water and they stood there once again in silence. In that moment Clint stood there when the sudden urge to just touch her hit him. He knew they probably weren't there yet, that they probably wouldn't be there until after all of this craziness ended, but it didn't make that urge go away. And so on a whim, Clint slid a hand behind her back and rested it on her waist. He thought for sure she would pull away, but to his surprise she didn't, in fact she moved closer to him. Even lying her head on his shoulder. After a year and half he didn't realize how much he missed this contact until this moment when he was holding her in his arms and didn't want to let her go.

"Hey!" a voice called and both pulled a part and turned to see Natasha. "We have everything, what about you?" Katie glanced down to her watch.

"The download should almost be finished, I'll go move things along" Katie replied before hurrying back to the facility.

"Thanks Nat" Clint said walking over to the assassin. "You have impeccable timing, you know that?"

"Well once we stop millions of people from being murdered, then you and your girlfriend can go grope each other all you want" Natasha replied before turning and heading back to the facility. "We're scheduled to leave in twenty so get your shit together!" Clint simply shook his head before heading back inside to get ready.

Once the suit was ready Kate didn't waste anytime with slipping on the skin tight material. She stood in the mirror looking at herself pulling at the material in an effort to make it more comfortable. It was no use. She shook her head at the sight of herself.

"Looks like something Natasha would wear" She muttered before reaching down and zipping up her boots. She pulled on her jacket before giving herself one final look over then turning and leaving the small bathroom. Katie walked out to see Clint talking to Hill before his eyes turned to her. He was momentarily stunned, before he cleared his throat and composed himself. Maria followed his eyes and simply shook her head.

"Kind of tight isn't it?" Maria asked and Katie sent the woman a glare.

"You think" Katie quipped before walking over to the two. "It has to be to work" she looked over to Clint whose eyes were still trailing over her body. "Eyes up here Bart" the man's brought his eyes back up to her eyes. "Where are the others?"

"Already in route" Clint replied and Katie nodded. "You ready to go?" Katie nodded again before turning to Maria.

"Good luck" Said Agent Hill before looking over to the door. They all turned to see Fury limping over to them.

"I thought you two would be gone by now" Fury said looking between Katie and Clint. "I don't have to tell you how important timing is to this mission"

"No sir" Clint said falling into the role of the good soldier easily. He glanced over to Katie who simply rolled her eyes before looking to the former director.

"Is everything in place?" Katie asked and Fury nodded. "Good, then there's no time to waste" she turned to Clint. "Let's move out" and without another word the woman walked around the director right for the door.

"Agent Barton-"

"Don't worry sir" Clint said glancing over to the director. "I will look out for her"

"That's not what I was going to say" Fury said. "Sparrow has her own mission whether we like it or not and trying to stop her could end badly for you"

"What are you trying to say?"

"He's saying it's time we stopped seeing her as the helpless lab tech" Maria explained. "She can handle herself and it's time to treat her as such"

"She's not your mission Agent Barton" Fury added. "Do you understand?"

"I do understand" Clint said with a slight nod. "I'm just not sure I agree" Clint was finished with this conversation and so he turned and left as well.

"I think it's too late for him" Fury commented as he watched the agent walk away. "He truly has been compromised"

"I think it's sweet" Maria said with a smile as she glanced over to the director who simply shook his head before walking away. Hill simply chuckled before following after him.

Katie strapped herself into the plane and looked up to see Clint standing just outside. This was where they would part ways for the time being.

"How long will the cloaking function last again?" Clint asked for the tenth time since he was informed about the suit.

"I already told you, I have a five minute window, which is more than enough time to meet you on the twentieth floor." She saw the worry in his eyes and placed a hand on his arm. "Look as long as every one does what they're supposed to do, everything will be fine" Clint nodded before pulling away, but Katie caught his arm.

"What?" he asked suddenly worried again.

"Be careful and-" she smiled. "Don't die"

"You too" Clint replies placing a hand on her cheek. After a moment Clint stepped back and slapped the side of the chopper and before he knew it he was watching her lift up into the sky. He only stood there for a moment before turning and rushing to the SUV that was waiting for him. He climbed into the backseat where he found Hill and Fury. They both gave him a look before Fury looked up to the driver.

"Let's move out!" Fury yelled and soon the vehicle was moving.

Katie sat on the plane her eyes closed as she thought over the plan. She didn't know why. She already knew what she had to do, but for some reason just had to keep going over and over it to make sure she had it down pact.

"Hawkeye, checking in" Katie heard from the comlink in her ear. She opened her eyes and lifted her head. "Sparrow, what's your ETA?" Katie looked up to the pilot who held up a hand.

"Five minutes" She replied and he could hear it. The subtle change in her voice. She was nervous.

"Spa- Kat what's wrong?" Clint asked and Katie simply shook her head.

"Everything is happening right on schedule Hawkeye, I'll contact you when I make it to the drop" Katie replied dropping her hand and letting her head fall back against the side of the plane.

Matthew wasn't sure where he was. The masked man had dragged him into another dark room where he stayed for for a while before the door finally swung open. He held up an arm to block the sudden light the shined into the room.

"Matthew Banks" A deep voice said a slight amusement evident. "I have to say you've proved very impressive. Not a lot of people could go through what you've gone through and still stand to tell about it"

"What, this is nothing compared to pledge week back in college" Matthew said sliding up the wall to stand.

"Funny" the man replied. Matthew dropped his arm to see a man dressed in a gray suit. "I guess you and your sister share the same bad sense of humor"

"Birds of a feather I guess" Matthew said pushing himself from the wall. "So I figured this was about my sister. I guess it's only fair to tell you that it won't work"

"Oh really?" the man asked. "And why is that?"

"Because she won't let it" Matthew replied. "With all this time, she's thought this through. She's not going to let you win."

"I'm not aiming to win little brother" The man said with a slight chuckle. "I just want what belongs to me" and with that the man turned and headed for the door.

"Who are you?" Matthew called.

"Call me Al" the man said before leaving the confused man to sit in his dark room.

Before any mission it is important to clear your mind of all interfering thoughts. In Katie's case this would be difficult since her entire being was filled with worry. But as she sat on that plane she closed her eyes and took deep breaths.

"Sparrow, you're a go" the pilot said. Katie opened her eyes and nodded before unstrapping herself from the seat.

"This is Sparrow, we've reached the drop" Katie said walking over to the opening of the plane slipping on her gloves and slipping the suits ski mask over her face.

"Is everyone in place?"

"Widow in place"

"Captain in place"

"Falcon in place"

There was a long silence and Katie lifted her head as they awaited the last voice. Suddenly the worry she'd been trying to keep under control was bubbling back to the surface.

"Sorry" Clint's voice finally spoke. "We caught traffic. Hawk in place"

"Everyone knows what they're doing?" Steve asked and received all affirmatives. "Alright, good luck and god speed."

Katie's eyes went to the large building below her and she could feel her heart ramming in her chest. She wished there was another way for her to get in. A way that kept her feet on land.

"I don't think I thought this all the way through" Katie muttered as she held onto the sides of the opening. "Is it too late for a reboot plan?"

"Sparrow, you'll be fine" Clint said. "Just jump"

Katie took a couple of deep breaths before stretching a bit. She decided it was now or never and so she pushed herself from the plane and let her self free fall. All she heard was the whistling of the wind passing her ears and hitting her face. She held her arms out wide as she got closer to the building. Soon the building came into reach and she activated the suits cloaking device before slapping against the window. The suction function of the gloves and knee pads activated letting Katie stick to the window.

"I never want to do that again" Katie muttered as she looked around the side of the building. "Sparrow in place, hows the cloaking holding up?"

"You're good" Hill's voice spoke. "Invisible, but not for long so keep going"

Katie nodded before climbing up the side of the building. She didn't dare look down because she knew she'd freak out at the sight of being so far from the ground.

Clint walked through the front doors of SHIELD, his head held high as he walked up to the employee entrance. It was him to get the lay of the land before going to meet back up with Katie. He walked in and it was as if nothing was different. As if an evil organization hadn't taken control. With a shake of his head he headed for the employee entrance scanning his badge before he waited for the guards to let him in. The guards looked down to the monitor before looking back to Clint, and he could tell from their faces that he wasn't just going to walk in.

"Agent Barton" One of the guards said standing to his feet. "I think you're going to have to come with me"

"That won't be necessary" a new voice said and they all turned to see Agent Rick Mason. "I think the boss will be happy to see you Hawk" he glanced over to the guards. "I'll take him from here" Mason grabbed Clint's arm and began pulling him toward the elevator. "You have a lot of nerve showing up here" Mason forcefully pushed Clint into the elevator before walking inside as well. As soon as the doors closed Clint took a step toward the man and Mason quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Hey now, I'm part of team end all the bullshit" Clint looked over to the man confused before taking another step and grabbing the man's arm before pinning it behind his back. "Really Hawk if I was really the bad guy do you really think I would let you beat me?"

"Let me?" Clint snarled in the man's ear and Mason let out a throaty laugh.

"There you go thinking you and I are actually a match" Rick replied before curling a leg around Clint's leg bending it before snapping his head back. Clint stumbled back before looking up to see Mason now point a 9mm at him. "You're going to have to climb a few more steps before you're on my level kid. Now chill, I'm the inside man"

"Inside man?" Clint asked. "Fury never said anything-"

"You mean Fury didn't share his entire plan with you, I'm shocked!" Rick said sarcastically. "You know him, doesn't do or say anything that could jeopardize the mission. If you knew I was helping then maybe you or your girlfriend would react in a way not conducive to the success of this mission, like I don't know attacking me in an elevator" Rick held the gun steady with one hand before reaching over and pressing the button for the twentieth floor. Clint looked over to the button before turning back to Rick. "Like it or not I am your life line here. Now reach up into that shaft above your head" Clint looked suspiciously to the shaft before glaring back over to Rick. "You want to waste time looking at me or do you want to grab your girl's clothes" Clint climbed on the rail up to the shaft pushing it open and retrieving a black duffel bag. He jumped back to the floor and zipped open the bag to find what looked like a field agent uniform. "Can I put the gun away or do you still not believe me"

"If it turns out you're lying-"

"I know you'll attempt to beat me up again" Rick said holstering his gun and turning to the doors.

"So what's your importance to this mission?" Clint asked turning to the doors.

"Katie" Rick replied and Clint had to fight the urge to just punch the guy. He looked over to see a smirk on the man's face. Once the doors opened Rick stepped out and walked down the hall, Clint not far behind him.

"You mind elaborating before I kick you in the balls?" Clint asked coming along side the man. He dropped his head as they passed agents coming from the opposite direction. Once the coast was clear he looked back over to the agent awaiting an answer.

"Sorry Hawk, you have your mission I have mine and sharing with the class does not happen now" Said Rick before walking into what seemed like a small conference room. Clint walked in behind him about to press the issue even more, but stopped when he saw the change of expression on the man's face.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked.

"She's not here" Rick said looking down to his watch. "She's late. She can't be late not when there are agents casing every inch of this place" he looked back over to Clint. "We have schedules for a reason. In five minutes is the next sweep of this floor and your girlfriend is late!" Clint held up a hand to shut the man up before turning and pressing a hand to the comlink.

"Sparrow, I'm at the rendezvous point and you're not"

"Yeah there's a reason for that" Katie said hanging up high as the wind blew fiercely past her.

"And what's that?" Clint asked.

"I looked down" Katie replied her eyes to the land and water just below her. One false move or misstep and she was dead.

"Damnit!" Clint cursed before walking over to the window and sliding it open. He didn't want her to do this. He knew she had a thing about heights and knew this would be too much. "Kat look up" her eyes seemed to be glued down. "Kat, please just look up" Katie reluctantly brought her eyes up to see Clint just a few feet away. "I'm right here, now climb up" she didn't move, frozen in fear. "Just come to me" he held out a hand toward her and to his relief she started climbing. "That's it you're almost there"

"Tell her to move faster" Rick complained coming up beside him. Clint simply pushed the man away with his other hand. "Fine, we all get caught it's on you"

"Will you just keep watch!" Clint growled glaring over to the man. "Go!" Rick simply held up his hands and walked over to the door to keep an eye out. Clint turned back to see Katie still climbing up the wall. "That's it, just keep moving. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere" she glanced up to meet his eyes and he could see her picking up the pace. "I promise" a few more steps and her hand reached up to grab Clint's and with one strong tug he pulled her through the window into his arms.

"I'm so never doing that again" Katie said letting out a sigh of relief to have her feet once again on the ground. She looked back up to Clint who still had his arms wrapped around her waist. She placed her hands on his arms before a noise startled her. She turned to see a face she didn't expect to see.

"What the-" she pulled from Clint's arms and turned to Rick about to attack when Clint grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Sorry to interrupt your little reunion, but we need to move" Rick said looking over to Katie who simply glared. "Not you too, look-" he picked up the duffel and tossed it to her. "Get changed" he turned to Clint. "You explain to her how I'm not the enemy here" and with that Rick turned and left the room.

"Ok, so what the fuck was that?" Katie asked turning to Clint. "The last time I saw him I kicked him in the balls for crossing me, what the hell is he doing here"

"Apparently he's with us" Clint said with a shrug. "I'm not sure but for right now he's saying all the right things so I don't think he's lying. He knows too much" Katie sighed before unzipping the bag. "We don't have much time" Katie nodded before dropping the bag and pulling out the clothes. She stood up straight about to unzip the suit when she saw Clint's eyes trained on her. "I'm sorry a year and a half of nothing sort of prohibits peep shows" Katie said with a slight smirk. "You understand right?" Clint simply nodded before turning his back to her. He may not be able to see her, but the sound of her unzipping the suit didn't stop his wandering imagination.

Rick stood in the hall when he heard the distant sound of voices. He was about turn and storm back into the room to hurry things along when the door swung open and out walked Clint and Katie who was now dressed in the uniform.

"Took your sweet time didn't you worm?" Rick asked as he began walking down the hall, Katie and Clint on either side of him. "I was this close to leaving both your asses"

"How fortunate we are" Katie quipped sarcastically. "I have the the server blades, where's Pierce"

"Probably up in his castle about to release the kraken" Rick said. "But that's not where you're going" Katie and Clint looked over to the man confused.

"Excuse me?" Clint said moving to stand in front of the man. "Start talking"

"Fine, since we're all here" Rick replied. "I'm taking worm here to get her brother, you're taking that blade to the carrier" he looked between the two. "Any more questions because a lot of people are going to die if you guys want to stand here to debate this"

"Look you-"

"Bart here" Katie said handing the server blade to Clint.

"Kat-"

"Fury knew what I needed to do and he planned around it" Katie replied.

"Except I'm not-" Clint glared over to Rick before grabbing Katie and pulling her away, bringing her back against the wall. "I'm not leaving you alone with this asshole"

"I can handle Mason" Katie said. "And he's right, we don't have time to debate this or come up with another plan"

"Why does this plan have to separate us?" Clint asked and Katie sighed before placing a hand on his cheek. "You're emotional and-"

"You don't see it do you?" Katie asked. "Yes I'm emotional, yes I'm too close to this, but I know logic and no matter how emotional I get, in the end I always fall to logic. This will be no different."

"Can you make out later" Mason said and Katie and Clint ignored him.

"Don't worry, I'll have you in my ear and I'll be in yours" Katie replied. There were voices and footsteps in the distance, but Katie and Clint simply stood there staring at one another.

"Seriously!" Rick whispered loudly. "Move your ass!" Clint slid his hands from Katie waist before sending a glare to the man.

"Here" Katie said handing him the server blade. Clint took it and slipped into his vest pocket before turning to Rick. Neither said anything, seemingly having a silent conversation that didn't need to be verbalized. Clint glare was all the warning Rick was going to get before he turned and walked down the opposite hall.

"How do we find Matthew?" Katie asked and Rick turned to her.

"Already done" Rick says before stalking down the adjoining hall, Katie close behind him. "Your brother's being kept on lock-down tight on twenty four. That's also where I've spotted our Loch Ness monster"

"The Winter Soldier?" Katie asked and Rick nodded. "Why would he-" Rick glanced over to her.

"He seems to be Pierce's muscle, look worm I don't know what's happened to your brother, but if this Winter Soldier is involved I wouldn't guess it's good" Rick said as they stepped onto the elevator. "You find you key to the city in the bag?" Katie unzipped her jacket and pulled out a tablet. "I guess it's your move than worm" they watched the numbers increasing and soon the number twenty four illuminated and the doors slid open to reveal a baron hall. "This doesn't look right" They both stepped off of the elevator and looked around, but didn't see a single person. "Let's just move" Rick took a step but Katie reached forward and grabbed his arm stopping him.

"This is a trap" Katie said. Suddenly the static of the intercom sounded and they both lifted their heads.

"_Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers._" Steve's voice sounded from above them. ""Y_ou've heard a lot about me and my friends over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt us down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA._" Katie and Rick share a look before they hear a noise. Both look around to see agents suddenly appearing from where ever they were hiding. _"Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building."_

"I didn't know part of the plan was publicly pissing off the enemy" Rick said taking out a gun and handing it to Katie before grabbing his own and holding it up.

_"They could be standing right next to you."_

"Or stalking toward you in a menacing fashion" Katie said slipping the tablet back in to her jacket and raising her gun.

_"They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay_." There was a clicking sound and both Katie and Rick turned to see a familiar figure walking toward them.

"Shit, did not expect him" Rick said now gripping his gun. He aimed it toward the Winter Soldier, but to his surprise Katie placed a hand onto of his gun and pushed it how.

"_And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."_

"What the fuck are you doing, are you crazy?" Rick asked looking between her and Bucky as he walked over to stand in front of them.

"Not crazy" Katie said her eyes watching Bucky closely as she hands her gun back to Rick. "Just thinking logically"

"And you see this as logical?" Rick asked angrily before pushing her back and placing himself in front of Bucky before raising his gun,but before he could even put a finger on the trigger, Bucky grabbed his wrist and twisted it causing the man to drop the gun to the floor. Bucky was about to throw a punch, but Katie moved forward.

"Don't!" Katie yelled and he looked over to her. "I'm here, that's what you were expecting right? I'm part of the plan, he's not. Just let him go"

"Katie don't!" Rick moved but Bucky simply twisted his wrist. "He will kill you"

"I don't think so" Katie replied. "If he wanted me dead I would be already. He wants something else, or at least Pierce wants something from me and unless I give it to him they won't let go of my brother" Katie placed a hand on the hand Bucky was using to hold Rick's wrist. "I"m here, where do you want me to go" Bucky looked at her for a moment in silence before glancing to Rick as he let go of his wrist and grabbed Katie's arm and pulled her with him.

"Katie!" Rick called about to go after her but the guards held him back.

"I heard stories about you Mason!" Katie called unable to turn to him. "Back up that ego of yours!" Rick watched as they got further and further down the hall before turning and disappearing from sight. He could feel his blood boiling as he looked to the guards surrounding him, some familiar faces, some not.

"I guess this is the part of the story where I prove the stories you've heard about me are actually true" Rick said his hands clenched at his side.

Katie and Bucky walked down the hall in silence as he forcefully pulled her. She glanced over to him ever so often looking up to his eyes that were focused up ahead.

"It was that machine, right?" Katie asked. She awaited an answer but as expected she didn't get one. "I remember bits and pieces of my time in the BLACK, but I remember that room and that chair" she felt his grasp tighten around her arm. Someone smart would stop talking when they recognized that what they were saying was not something he wanted to hear. Someone smarter would realize that it's the things we don't want to hear that we need to hear the most. "It was scary and I could feel-" she shook her head. "I was losing control" she looked back over to him. "That's what happened to you, isn't it." He didn't say anything but she could see his expression change. He was listening just not saying anything. "It took a while, but I realized that they didn't. Their power didn't come from some device that warped my mind it was making me believe that some device could warp my mind." She stopped her feet and moved to place herself in front of him. "They didn't take your control Bucky, they simply made you believe they could. All you have to do is fight to get through it." Bucky looked down to her eyes and for a moment she thought she'd gotten through to him. He still didn't say a word, but instead walked around her and pushed open a door before moving aside. The door lead to a dark room and Katie looked over to him confused before walking up suspiciously. She squinted her eyes to see something and noticed something curled up in the corner of the room. "What-" a moan sounded from that corner and her eyes widened. "Matt!" she quickly ran inside dropping to her knees beside her brother. It was too dim to see his face, but she could feel bruises and cuts. "Say something"

"Took you long enough" Matthew said weakly. Katie leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"We need to get him to a-" She turned her head just in time to see the door swing closed. "Bucky?" she stood to her feet and tried to find the door in the dark room. She found the knob and twisted it with no success. "Bucky, don't do this, open the door!" she got no response as she banged the door. "Is somebody there!" still nothing. She turned and place a hand on the comlink in her ear. "Clint, can you hear me?" she heard static and what sounded like Clint's voice, but it was too distorted to make out. "Clint, please!" frustrated she ripped the comlink from her ear and threw it to the ground before going back over to her brother. "Don't worry, I'm going to get us out of here" she lifted her head for something, anything to make that statement true. She looked down when she didn't get a response. "Matthew?" She wished there was light, even just a little, so she could see his face. "Mattie, talk to me" she could feel the anxiety growing in her chest. She didn't know why but it felt like she was suffocating. Each breath she took didn't seem to be making it to her lungs as she shook her brother with no response. "Mattie!" All she got in the darkness was silence. And that silence felt like a knife through her heart. "Mattie" she whispered. "Mattie, please don't leave me"

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**A/N: Gaaaah! I know it was a terrible place to end, but I needed to sink my hooks back into you. Next chapter comes the fight to regain control and stop a lot of people from dying. Millions of life hang in the balance, but there's only one life Katie's interested in.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm back and I guess I should warn you that this chapter will end on a "WTF" note...you'll see. **

**Read it. Enjoy it... and please Review it.**

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Recalculating. That's what Katie was doing as she held her motionless brother's body in her arms. She didn't include this in her calculations... she didn't expected the unexpected and now she was paying for it. He had a pulse and that little thump she felt in his wrist was her hope that there was still a chance to get out of this.

"There has to be a way out of here, right?" She asked out loud hoping that talking to Matthew somehow kept him with her. She looked around the dark room unable to make anything out. It made the fear and the worry grow, so much so that it began manifesting itself in her chest. A heat began growing over her chest that was hot, like really-

"Wait, that's not normal" Katie muttered when she heard three beeps and that's when she realized what she'd forgotten. Katie unzipped her jacket and pulled out the tablet Rick had given her. "My key to the city" she smiled slightly. "I'm so going to kiss you Rick Mason" she sat Matthew on the ground before swiping away on the tablet. She got into the SHIELD mainframe and brought up virtual map of the building. She tracked the tablet's internal beacon and found out where exactly she was. "Ok there we are and...yes" the lock to the door was computer operated, which meant it could be hacked. "Just hold on Mattie" Katie said standing to her feet and walking over to the door. "I'm going to get us out of here."

Clint ran down the hall as gun shots flew past him. He glanced over his shoulder to see that the men behind him were not letting up.

"This is Hawkeye, I'm pinned down, how much time do we have?" he asked into his comlink as he turned down a corner.

"Ten minutes" Maria Hill replied. "How far away from the launch zone are you?" Clint stood with his back pinned against the wall as he peeked down to where guards stood posted outside of Insight's launch area.

"I'm looking at the door" Clint whispered. "Is there any word on Mason or Sparrow"

"Neither one have checked in with their status" Hill replied. "Barton-"

"I know the mission" Clint says before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a miniature explosive and rolling it down the hall. He dipped behind the wall until he heard the explosion and after that he was running toward the door. Once inside there weren't as many guards as he expected and getting them out of his way wasn't too hard. The only issue he saw were the carriers beginning to ascend. "I think your time line may be a little off"

"Damn it, Pierce must have launched a head of time" Hill said. "Are you able to get onto the carrier?"

"Yeah" Clint says as he pick up his speed as he heads to the carrier. "If I jump really high I guess"

"Well fly on Hawkeye" Hill replied when she spots HYDRA agents shooting their way into the command post she was currently residing. She stood to her feet as she pulled out her gun and shot the first intruder. The second ran inside, but was shot instantly, only not with her gun. Maria looked slightly confused when another man appeared, this one she recognized. "Mason, what are you doing here?" she looked over the man who looked completely battered. "And where's Sparrow?" Rick didn't say anything as he climbed the stairs and headed straight for the computer. "Mason!"

"I will find her!" Rick snapped looking over to Maria.

"No, she was your mission and you failed. There is no time for some spur of the moment rescue mission" Maria replied. "Time's running out"

"Alpha Carrier locked" Clint's voice spoke through the comlink. "I'm about to head up to join the party with the Captain"

"Copy" Maria replies.

"Any word on Mason or Sparrow?" Clint asked again and this time Maria looked over to Rick who was typing away.

"Mason's here" Maria said and the agent looked over to her. "Sparrow is MIA" Clint didn't say anything and Maria wondered if they'd lost the connection. "Hawkeye do you copy?"

"Yeah, I copy" Clint spoke. "I'm finding her"

"Hawkeye, your mission was clear-"

"And I've completed it. Now the importance is preventing as many casualties and getting as many people out of here, which I plan on doing as I find her" Clint replied defiantly.

"Fine, check in when you've found her" Maria replied before looking over to Rick. "Clint's going after her, you've failed" she reached and pulled out her spare weapon and tossed it to Mason. "There are a lot of guns upstairs, go try and stop it" Mason caught the gun and turned back to the monitor. "Mason, there's still a big picture here and it's covered with the faces of the millions of dead people that carrier is going to kill if it gets into the air." Mason simply shook his head before hurrying out of the room.

Katie looked down to the tablet and typed a couple of more keys. She grumbled at how long it was taking her. She figured after all this time, codes and access points had been changed. It took a while, but soon the screen she needed appeared.

"Alright" Katie says before typing in one final code and suddenly the door pops open. She smiles wide before sliding the tablet back into her jacket. "Alright, Mattie, we're getting out of here" she turned and reached down and tried picking up her brother. It was at this moment she realized just how heavy he was. "Dude, what have you been eating?" she bent down and grabbed his arm bringing it around her neck before using all the strength she had with picking him up. All of his weight seemed to be pressed into her side, but she held up. She took a deep breath before practically dragging him out of the room. The sound of gun fire didn't go unnoticed as she walked down the hall. She kept her eyes up and watching hoping she wasn't walking into the middle of a fire fight. Right now her only concern was getting her brother out of this building and to a hospital.

"You know when I first met you I thought you were a very weird kid" she said as she struggled to hold his weight. More guns shots were fired and she had no idea where they were coming from. "And then I got to know you and I realized that you were a very weird kid, but that I'm weird too and having someone to be weird with didn't suck so much" she looked over her shoulder to her unconscious brother whose head simply hung on her shoulder. "So if you can hear me right now I'm going to need you to just hold on a little longer, because I need my weird little brother." There was an elevator at the end of he hall and she hoped that it could lead to their salvation. She tried adjusting her brother's weight as she moved as quickly as she could toward the elevator. Her feet only stopped when the elevator bell rang when she hadn't even touched it. The doors slide open and appeared an agent. HYDRA or SHIELD... she wasn't sure.

"No you listen, there is no way out. We have to evacuate now!" His eyes landed on her and the moment his hand went for his gun her question was answered.

"Worm down!" a voice called from behind them. Katie didn't take anytime to look, she wrapped her arms around her brother and dropped to the floor. She closed her eyes as she heard the bullets fly above them. Once they stopped she heard footsteps coming closer. "You alright?" she opened her eyes to see Rick looking down to her.

"Yeah" Katie says before looking over to her brother. "Help me with him?" Rick looked over to Matthew's unconscious body and seemed hesitant. "He's still alive, we just need to get him to a hospital" Mason nodded before grabbing one of the man's arm while Katie grabbed the other and brought him to his feet. They carried him toward the elevator and waited for the doors open. "So did we win yet?" Rick looked over to her.

"Two carriers down, but one is still active" Rick replied and Katie looked back with wide eyes. "I think the captain's trying to get the blade in, but it's not looking good" Katie closed her eyes and sighed.

"How much time do we have?" Katie asked.

"I don't know, last I heard it was down to three minutes" Rick replied watching Katie. She was planning something. "What's going on in that head of yours, worm?" the elevator doors slid open and Katie looked over to Mason. "Katie?"

"If he's too late and INSIGHT gets into motion he won't be able to stop it" Katie replied she slid from under Matthew's grasp, letting his weight fall to Mason who didn't seem too effected. "I have to be there in case things go south"

"C'mon, Pierce probably created a back up plan just to prevent that" Rick replied. "That's why your brother is here. He knew you would be and knew you could be a threat, he-"

"Needed me distracted meaning I'm probably still a threat" Katie says before placing a hand on the side of her brother's head. "Get him out of here and to a hospital" she placed a kiss on Matthew's forehead before looking to Mason and placing a kiss to his cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For giving my key" she looked over to Matthew. "You probably don't know this but you saved us" she smiled and looked to Rick once again. "Thanks" with that she turned and ran down the hall.

"You have no weapons!" he yelled after her. "And this place is filled with bad guys who do"

"Don't worry, I'll be ok!" Katie called not turning around.

"I'm telling Hawk you kissed me!" he said, but she didn't say anything. He looked over to Matthew and shook his head. "Your sister is insane" he stepped on the elevator with Matthew in tow. "But she is something"

Maria let out a sigh of relief when she spotted Katie carrying her brother on one of the screens. But that relief turned to confusion when she saw Mason appear and save the pair, before Katie handed over her brother and and run in the other direction. She would've asked Mason, but it would seem he too was without a comlink.

"We have these things for a reason" Maria muttered before accessing the elevator's intercom system. "Where's you com?" Mason looked up and spotted the camera in the corner of the ceiling.

"You know I don't like things in my ears Hill" Mason replied before a cocky smile. "Well I like some things in my ear, but I'll tell you about that later"

"Please do, it'll give me a reason to kick your ass" Maria said. "Now where the hell is Sparrow going?"

"Up to help the captain" Mason said. "She said that if he's unable to insert the server blade, she wants to be there to try and manually override it"

"The damn things already in the air" Maria replied. "How is she going to get to it?"

"I'm sure she'll find a way" Mason said before looking over to Matthew. "Right now I need a medic asap, you think you could set something up?"

"I'm sure there's something I can do" Maria said before taking out her mobile device and sending out a message for a medic to be waiting outside of the building.

Katie was once again running. It was the one things she knew she was good at. Though, her feet came to a halt when bullets flew right past her head. She dipped back, pressing her back firmly against the wall.

"I know that's you Sparrow!" a voice called but she didn't recognize the voice. "I thought you would've been dead by now"

"Well you can't always get what you want!" Katie called back when more bullet flew in her direction. She reached into her jacket and pulled out her tablet. She began pulling up the building

s sprinkler system and when she found the point she needed all she had to do was hit the green activate button and suddenly water was falling from the sky.

"What the-" Katie tossed the tablet to the floor before looking around the corner to see the agent looking up to the ceiling in a state of confusion and that's all she needed.

"Now or never" Katie thought before running from behind the wall. The man looked over just as she came close to him. In a last attempt to gain control he aimed his gun, but Katie threw her leg up kicking it out of his hand. He threw a punch toward her head but she ducked before slamming her elbow into his chest. He stumbled back but before he could gain his composure, she kicked him hard in the chest causing him to slam against the wall. She watched as his body simply slid to the floor. "Distractions are your worst enemy" she said the man's motionless body before turning to run, but the moment she lifted her head she saw another HYDRA agent standing just a couple of feet in front of her, the barrel of his gun aimed right for her head.

"Good advice" he said his hand gripping the gun. "Too bad-" the man's words seemed to be ripped from his mouth when an arrow shot right through his chest. She watched as the man's gun dropped from his hand before he collapsed to the floor. Katie's eyes lifted to see Clint standing, his bow in hand. They stood there for a moment looking at one another before Katie walked over to him.

"That was an awesome shot" Katie said still looking to Clint with slight awe. Clint shook his head before placing a hand on her waist and pulling her close to him. She placed her hands on his chest. "I would love to have this moment, but there's no time"

"What are you talking about?" Clint asked.

"There's still one carrier active" Katie replied.

"And the Captain's handling it" Clint said.

"And if he can't then there has to be a back up plan" she replied stepping out of Clint's grasp. "I'm the back up plan" she grabbed his hand. "C'mon, I might need your bow"

"God, I wish you were being suggestive right now" Clint groaned as he let her pull him toward the stairwell that lead to the room. It only took a couple of flights before they were bursting through the doors of the roof to see the carrier hovering in the air. "How are you going to get up there?" he looked over Katie who glanced down to his bow.

"You brought Beatrice" Katie said looking down to Clint's bow.

"How did you-"

"Know you name you bow and arrows like a weirdo?" Katie asked. "Because you're not the only one good at spying on people." she placed a hand on the bow. "I know this arrow can get me from here to there"

"Yeah and I know that you just had a melt down climbing the side of this building,and now you're talking about repelling from an even greater distance to a carrier that's moving. Clint said with a firm shake of his head. "But the best part is that in the slight chance that you're successful you have a limited amount of time before Hill sets them to self destruct" Katie shook her head. "The answer is no" she grabbed the bow from his hand and pulled but he held on tight. "Kat, what are you-" he pulled even more, only for her to place her hand on top of his. The touch of her fingers on his skin made totally fall out of the moment and Katie used his distraction to pull the bow from his hands. "That was not playing fair" he reached for the bow but she jumped back out of reach.

"Bart, right now adrenaline is coursing through my veins, there's no fear anywhere" she said. "There's just a carrier over there about to murder a bunch people soon if we don't stop it in time." she leaned forward pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I know what I'm doing, trust me"

"How can I when you say that even when you don't know what you're doing?" Clint asked and Katie smiled before looking down to the bow. "The code is-" she had already typed in a few numbers activating the bow's zip line function. "I hate when you do that"

"No you don't, you love when I break your codes" she said giving him a wink before running to the edge of the roof. She rose the bow, aiming it toward the hellicarrier. The rise and fall of her chest slowed as she closed one eye. She mentally counted to three before shooting the arrow and hitting the side of the carrier. She wrapped the rope around her arm tight before stepping onto the ledge of the room.

"Don't fall!" Clint called and she glared over her shoulder to him. "Come back"

"You couldn't keep me away" Katie replied before turning and jumping off the edge of the building. Clint ran to the edge to see Katie swing toward the carrier before hitting the side with a bang.

"Hawkeye" Maria spoke through the comlink.

"Yeah, I found Sparrow" Clint replied already knowing what she was going to ask. "She's going to assist the Captain. Give him a heads up"

"I would but he's busy at the moment" Maria replied. "He's having a little reunion with an old friend" Clint stood there confused for a moment before realizing what she was saying. He peered over the side of the building to see Katie climbing up the rope into the carrier.

The moment Katie climbed inside of the carrier, she looked up to the massive space. The place was huge, but she could see the blade station up above her. She jumps and grabs the walkway above her. She keeps at until she reaches the very last one and pulls herself up and runs toward the station.

"Drop it!" Katie hears a voice yell. She turns to see Steve and Bucky in an intense battle, both seeming equally matched. She spots the blade in Bucky's hand and her first instinct is to get Steve's attention so he can try to toss it to her. She decides against that idea since distracting Steve right now probably wasn't the best idea. Steve gets Bucky into head lock until the man passes out and that's when she decides to make her presence known.

"Steve!" Katie yells as the man stands to his feet. "Hurry!" Steve nods before jumping on the side of the bridge and pulling himself up. She runs over to him as he tries to place the blade into the station. The moment his hand moves a shot is fired. They both turn to see Bucky now on his feet a gun in his hands. He fires another shot, this on hitting Steve.

"Steve!" Katie yells trying to catch the man who collapses to the floor. Her attempt to catch him is useless and they both fall to the floor. It's then that Katie see the blood seeping from his gut. "No!" She looks over her shoulder to see Bucky making his way toward them. "Shit!" she looks down to Steve's hand to find it empty. He dropped it. She looked around trying to find the blade, but it was nowhere in sight. "Shit, fuck, shit" she quickly stood to her feet to see the rest of the blades aligned and in that moment luck had to be on her side. She realized that the chip's pattern looked familiar. "Wait, I know this" she reached up and to anyone watching her would see her begin plucking seamlessly random blades from the station. But there was a reason to her madness. It was their placement that made them work and removing just a few blades could throw the entire thing off course. But you had to recognize that the blades that shared many similarities had differences and that only specific blades could be removed for this to work. She's only removed about eight, before the entire thing turned itself off.

"Katie" Steve moaned in pain as he made his way to his feet.

"Steve, it's done, let Hill know it' done" Katie said looking over to Steve.

"Charlie locked!" Steve said into him comlink. Katie watched as he listened to Maria before turning back to her. "You have to get out of here!" Steve grabbed her arm and pulled her with him.

"Steve, what are you doing?" Katie asked trying to pull out of the man's grasp, but even for a wounded soldier he was strong. "We need to get out of here together!" Steve eyes looked down to see Bucky pinned under fallen rubble.

"He doesn't die here alone" Steve said and Katie looked over to see Bucky as well. "I owe him more than that"

"Steve-"

"We're not that far, you can jump it" Steve said pulling her, but she pulled back.

"I probably could, but I would spend the rest of my life at this moment. Seeing you risk your life when it isn't necessary. There is another way." Steve turned his head as he listened to Maria who told him that he needed to get out of there before she activated the destruct mode on the carriers.

"Katie, you're getting out of here!" Steve said pulling her, but she slipped out of his grasp.

"No, I'm not. You're not leaving without your friend, and I'm not leaving without mine, so lets get a move on" Katie turned and jumped over the bridge to the windows below them. She hears Steve behind her and she looks over to him, this time he doesn't try to stop her.

"This place is about to be destroyed and-"

"It's not over yet" Katie interrupts. "I've survived being plopped into the middle of another realm, I can handle a little gunfire" as if on cue gun fire erupts throwing Katie off of her feet. She lands just a couple of feet from Bucky whose still pinned under debris. She looks up to him and for a brief moment, while surrounded by chaos they look to one another. Katie feels something on her forehead and then it's on her eyes. It isn't until she looks down to the glass she's lying on to see blood dripping and it's coming from her. She casts one final glance over to Bucky who she swears looks as if he's trying to free himself from the rubble. She never gets a chance to see if her suspicions were right because after his face came the darkness trying to overtake her.

It all seemed like a dream. That sounds very cliche, but it did. It was as if Katie was there, but wasn't there at the same time. It doesn't make sense, but nothing about the events of that day did. She was rolling around the carrier, Bucky and Steve were there and they seemed to be talking, but then fighting..were they fighting? Consciousness was hard to hold onto,but it wasn't the only thing. Soon she felt like she was flying. She could feel the wind on her skin and she could honestly say she wasn't afraid and so she finally just gave into the darkness.

**Thirty six hours later...**

Was there country music in heaven? It seemed like a strange question, but when the wailing sound of some poor soul singing about how some guy name Billy broke her heart at Walgreens, it seemed like a logical question. Katie's next question was why did her head feel like it had been sat on by an elephant. She knew none of her questions would be answered until she opened her eyes and so she did and saw the last person she thought she would see.

"Bucky?" Katie asked and he glanced over to her. She took her eyes off of him to see that they were driving in what looked like an old pick up truck. Outside she saw nothing but trees and that only made her worry more. She turned back to Bucky who seemed to be trying to split his attention between her and the road. "Are you kidnapping me?" he simply sighed before turning back to the road. "Well is that a yes?"

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**A/N: I know, I know... WTF! Don't worry we'll answer a lot of questions you probably have after reading this chapter, like why and where is Bucky taking Katie?...You probably have your theories, but I can promise you, you're probably wrong. You'll see next chapter. **

**Ps. Uhh 72 follows and 42 favs, but only 1 review for the last chapter...I know many of you are the silent type and I can understand that and I can even accept that, but you all have these great thoughts, ideas and theories that I just love hearing. That being said I still wuv you guys for sticking with me, silent or vocal and I can't wait to get started on the next chapter which will let me brush off my creative skills since I have no more movies to leech off of until next year. (CAN'T WAIT FOR AOU!) But I think I can carry this story for a while before we come to a hiatus. ( I know evil word, but at least it's not "Final Chapter" **

**...Well that's all for my little rant, thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This just in... you guys are awesome. Thanks for the love and to thank you I have a new chap for ya. **

**Read it. Enjoy it. Review it.**

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"_For those of you that are just tuning in, we're sitting here talking with Professor Laura Connolly of Stanford University and Dr. Jeffrey Hamilton, author of, "Lies from the White House. I want to once again thank you two for talking with us and helping us understand all this hoopla we've been seeing on the tv and on the internet. Many people have no idea the implications of these recent events" _

"_And that's why I want people to go out and get my new book. It's not about the money or fame, it's about doing what the government doesn't want done and that's the American people being informed." _

"_Professor Connolly teaches a course on the ever changing government climate. What are your thought's on this recent internet revelation and all this craziness about secret government agencies that have been working right under our noses?" _

"_Honestly, I'm not surprised. I mean with everything that has happened over these couple of years with aliens and mutants, it was inevitable for the government to step up and take a stand." _

"_So you're saying you support this organization, SHIELD I believe it's called?" _

"_I'm saying that I can't fight aliens, I'm saying that I can't take down German terrorists, and apparently SHIELD can or could or whatever their situation is. I'm saying that I'm fine with the government making the moves necessary to keep me and my children safe." _

"_And that's the problem with America today-" _

"_Mr. Jeffrey, everyone is entitled to their opinion on my show-" _

"_No, screw opinion. The facts were just thrown across the internet and I knew it. I knew the government was into some deep stuff, like deep and-" _

Clint flicked off the television. He was literally getting tired of seeing it, of listening to people who knew nothing with the most to say. He sighed as he looked over to the unconscious form of Matthew lying in bed, the only sound coming from the beeping heart monitor and the whooshing respirator. One week. It was only seven days, but a lot had happened in those seven days. The secret organization he once worked for was no longer secret. Matthew Banks was brought in with several lacerations and contusions and was currently not waking up. SHIELD was gone, but even after all of that, there was only one thing that Clint thought about over the course of these seven days. It was the woman he always thought about. The woman he remembered seeing going into a hellicarrier, but never seeing her come out. Katie was gone and he had no idea how or why. All he knew that she was gone and he had never felt so alone in his life.

There was a knock on the door that brought Clint from his thoughts. He looked over and let out an annoyed sigh. It was the one person he really didn't want to see. He would rather see Tony at the moment.

"Any news?" Steve asked walking into the room.

"Nope, he's still out" Clint replied. Steve nodded before looking over to Matthew and the room grew silent as both men listened to the beeping heart monitor and the whooshing respirator. "Was there something you needed?" It was harsh, but that's how it was meant to sound. Clint held so much animosity toward Steve at the moment, that the simple act of being in the same room was almost too much. He just wanted to hit him. At some point he thinks will.

"Barton, I understand how upset you must be right now, but you have to trust that if there was anything I could've done-"

"You said that you would look after her" Clint said standing to his feet and looking across to the man. "And I knew a guy like you, a good guy would keep his word, but she's not here right now. Tell me Captain, why is that exactly?"

"Like I said-"

"I know what you said!" Clint snapped. Yep, he was definitely going to hit this guy. "You don't remember-"

"I don't remember how I ended up on shore" Steve said interrupting the man. "I remember falling, and I remember seeing her fall, but after that-" he shook his head. "I told her to leave the moment the carrier was deactivated, I told her that it was done, but that she had to leave, but she-" Steve's mind went back to that carrier and seeing Katie look to him with determination as she refused to leave that carrier without him. "I don't get it, I mean I know she's good, but we aren't the closest, I'm still the one person on this entire team who knows the least about her and yet she stood there and she looked me in the face and told me she wasn't going to let me die" Steve brought his eyes back to Clint's. "I understand that you're mad and that you're hurt but you're not to one who has to live with that memory and know that it's because of you that a good person is no longer here" Steve looked down to Matthew and placed a hand on top of his for just a second before walking back to the door. "If anything changes let me know, I want to be the one-" he shook his head and looked over to Clint. "I think I should be the one to tell him" Clint simply nodded before Steve turned and walked out of the room.

Steve walked down the hall before spotting Sam and Natasha talking before they turned to him.

"Any changes?" Sam asked and Steve simply shook his head. Natasha noticed the slight expression change in Steve's features.

"I'm taking it didn't go too well with Barton either?" Natasha asked.

"I don't blame him" Steve replied rubbing the back of his neck. "She's gone and it's all my fault"

"We don't know what happened" Natasha replied. "The last time you saw her, was she alive?"

"Yes, but barely" Steve countered. "She hit her head on the window of the carrier. I wanted to help her but-"

"You were occupied with your psychotic friend" Natasha said seeing the glare Steve gave her. "Sorry, too soon. But my theory is, if you didn't see it happen, then there's a chance it didn't"

"But there's also a chance it did" Steve replied.

"Well until you answer that question how about you stop blaming your self for it" Natasha replied before looking down to her phone. "Shit, I have this stupid hearing" she sighed before looking back over to Steve. "I guess I'll see you guys later" both men nodded before watching the woman walk away.

"She's right you know" Sam spoke and Steve simply sighed. "There's still a chance she's still alive"

"Yeah there is, but then I start to worry even more" Steve replied. "Because she went through hell and high water to get her brother back and there he is in that room and she's nowhere in sight. If she's alive and she's not in that room then I'm afraid of where she could really be."

Katie stood leaning against the wall of the of the Smithsonian looking over to Bucky who stared pensively at the display that happened to be about him. One week had passed and he still hadn't given her any indication of what she was doing there. To her frustration, an escape seemed impossible. He rarely, if ever slept. Plus there was the fact that he was stronger and faster than she was and so she went along with him hoping that soon he would just do whatever is he was going to do.

"Are you going to kill me?" she whispered and he simply glanced over to her before turning back to the display. "Is this some sick, twisted, drawn out psychotic way of torturing and then killing me"

"That doesn't make sense" he muttered. "And no, I'm not going to kill you, now would you just shut up"

"Fine, I'll do you one better and just give you some privacy" Katie said before turning and only taking a few steps before he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "That is going to work at some point"

"No it's not" he said with a shake of his head. "Now stand there and shut up" he turned back to the display and continued to read about himself. For so long he didn't know and now that he did, it just felt surreal. He glanced over to Katie who was now leaning against the glass with her eyes closed. "How did you come to grips with it?" she opened her eyes and looked over to him. "At one moment you're one person and then the next you find out you're somebody else"

"I don't know"Katie said running her fingers through her hair. "What they did to you was a lot worse then what they did to me, I would assume, so I can't possibly understand-" she let out a sigh. "That's why I'm here isn't it. You want me to make sense of all of this?" he turned away from her back to the display. "I wish I could, I wish...I would love to be your saving grace right now, but my head is killing me, I don't know if my brother is even alive, I don't know what happened to my friends and the person who has tried to kill me, my friends and my brother not even a week ago wants me to help him" Bucky didn't say anything and Katie let out a frustrated growl. "I'm sorry you went through what you went through, but right now I really just want to hit you and I would if I knew it would hurt you" she shook her head.

"I just realized that my entire life was taken away from me, my family, my friends, everything" he looked back over to her. "I was forced to do things that I wouldn't-" he sighed. "Right now I wish you would hit me if you could make it hurt" he let his eyes go back to the display, still trying to make sense of what he was feeling. They stood there after that in silence, before he felt her punch his arm. It wasn't a strong punch, but figured at the moment it was the strongest she was going to give. He looked looked down to his arm and placed a hand on hit. "Ow" he said sarcastically turning back to the display.

"I hate you" Katie muttered leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. She missed the smirk that passed over his face as he read.

Clint had been nodding off when a doctor came in, checking Matthew's monitors. He sat up a bit to see what the doctor was doing before finally speaking.

"How is he doing doc?" Clint asked and the doctor looked over to him.

"The same" the doctor replied. "Brain activity is minimal"

"What are you saying?"

"He took a beating, a good one" The doctor said looking down to Matthew. "The fact that he's still hanging on is a miracle all in itself. I think time is all Mr. Banks needs right now." he looked back over to Clint. "I'll make sure to pass along all necessary information to his new doctors" the doctor turned to leave.

"Wait" Clint said standing to his feet. "New doctors, what new doctors?"

"I thought you knew. Mr. Banks is scheduled to be transported to NY Presbyterian Hospital in just a few hours" the doctor replied.

"Under whose orders?" Clint asked confused. He'd been by the man's bedside since he'd been in the hospital and knew nothing about him being transported.

"His power of attorney" the doctor replied. "Mr. Stark" Clint shook his head in anger before nodding to the doctor. The doctor simply turned and walked out of the room.

"God damn Stark" Clint muttered before looking over to Matthew.

Once again Katie sat in the passenger side of yet another stolen vehicle procured by her kidnapper, Mr. Barnes.

"I just told you that I can't help you and yet here I am" Katie said looking over to him. "You want to take a trip of self rediscovery, then fine, just let me out at the bus stop up there"

"You don't get it"

"I absolutely don't get it" Katie replied. "You need something from me and I can't give it to you. What happened to you was fucked up, but you're strong and you're smart and I know given some time you will find a way to live through it." He looked over to her with a look she didn't recognize. "What?"

"You don't know me"

"I know you a lot more than you may realize" Katie replied. "It's why I'm here isn't it. The fact that we are two people that the two headed beast of SHIELD/HYDRA has screwed over the worst" she shook her head and looked out of the window. "They took our lives and forced us to watch and then made people think we were crazy."

"And yet you fought for them" Buck said and Katie looked over to him.

"No I didn't" Katie countered. "The moment I left SHIELD, I really left SHIELD. When I fought, I fought for my friends, for my family and for the people." she shook her head. "I never fought for SHIELD"

"That was real patriotic of you" Bucky said and Katie looked over to see an amused smirk on his face. "Doesn't change the fact that we're here, the victims of a screwed up system"

"I'm not a victim and neither are you" Katie replied. "This was a learning experience. I learned and you learned something and we take these lessons and we make sure we're never put in situations like this again. We pay attention and we follow our instincts and we recognize our friends and our enemies" he looked over to her. "You saved my life in that hell and I want to thank you for that, and I know that the person I met afterwards wasn't you and the person who hurt my brother wasn't you"

"Then who was it?" Bucky asked angrily. "Because that thing that they made, it's in me somewhere, so how do you know it's not me"

"I don't know how to explain it, but the person I met in that dark room is the person I see right now" Katie replied. "Despite what you've done your heart shines through." he glanced over to her. That wasn't something he would expect her to say, even if he didn't know her that well. "It's something my dad used tell me when I was younger" that surprised even her. She rarely spoke of her father, much less voluntarily sharing memories of him. She turned away and Bucky noticed how effected she was of the mention of her father. "How much longer are we going to do this?" he didn't reply immediately which made Katie that much curious. "At some point you're just going to have to figure this out on your own or I don't know talk to Steve" he sent a glare toward her. "He's your friend and he was willing to risk his life to save you, so yes at some point talking to him should be on your list of things to do" More silence followed before Bucky pulled over to the side of the road. Katie looked over to him confused and he simply just looked ahead. "What are you doing?"

"You wanted to go, so here's your chance" Bucky says not sparing a glance. Katie shook her head before going to open the door, but she froze. It wasn't her lack of desire to actually leave that stopped her, but it was her damn conscious. She muttered under her breath before closing the door and sitting back in the seat. Bucky didn't say anything as he shifted the car in to drive and pulled off. She sent a glare in his direction. "I really hate you" she turned back to look out the window, once again missing the slight smirk on his face.

Clint paced back and forth in front Matthew's room, his cell phone pressed to his ear. He'd been on hold for way too long waiting for Tony to finally answer.

_"I'm sorry Agent Barton"_ JARVIS answered. "_Mr. Stark is busy at the moment and can't come to the phone, he said you are free to leave a message."_

"JARVIS, tell Tony to answer the phone now!" Clint snapped trying to keep his voice as calm as he possibly could in the hospital. The line was silent for a moment and Clint thought JARVIS had hung up.

_"Have you found her_" a voice spoke next that wasn't JARVIS. It was Tony.

"No, look-"

_"Then we have nothing to discuss Barton"_ Tony replied about to hang up.

"Wait, what is this about you moving Matthew to New York?"

_"What are you confused about? I'm in New York, I'm his power of attorney, there are excellent doctors here, and because I say so"_

"You're a prick you know that. He's fine here, if there's a chance she's out there, this will be the first place she looks"

_"If she's out there she won't assume where her brother is bird brain, she'll figure it out. Listen, I got to go, but nice talk_" and with that Tony hung up the phone.

Clint growled in frustration before turning and walking back into Matthew's room. He slumped back into his chair as he looked over to Matthew.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do?" Clint asked out loud. It was the question he'd been asking himself the moment he found out she was missing. He had no starting point, no clue as to where she could've possibly gone. She was just gone and he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

"Keep it down" Matthew's rough voice slurred. Clint's eyes widen as he walked over to the man's side to see Matthew stirring.

"Hey, Matt" Clint spoke and the man opened his eyes and it was obvious that Clint was definitely not the man he expected to see. He looked around the room expecting to see someone else. Clint followed his eyes already knowing who he was looking for. "She's...she's not here" Matthew looked over to Clint and noticing the look or sadness in the man's eyes and it was as if he knew what had happened. Matthew simply closed his eyes. "Hey-" Clint placed a hand on the man's shoulder before the room erupted in an array of beeping and buzzing. "Matt!" soon doctors and nurses rushed into the room pushing Clint away until he ended up in the hallway staring at the door. That where he stood when the doctor finally came out.

"He's in stable condition"

"What happened, he was awake, he spoke"

"I'm not sure, but it's not uncommon for coma patients to come in and out of consciousness" the doctor replied. "I am a little concerned about moving him at the moment though, I think I'm going to have to talk with Mr. Stark" Clint nodded before watching the doctor and the rest of the nurses clear out. He walked back inside to the familiar sight of Matthew lying there unmoving.

Tony stood at the window of his New York Tower, just staring out to the scenery before him. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about her right now. That's what he told himself. Actually it's what Bruce told him and he agreed. His girlfriend had been in an accident and though it wasn't life threatening, his attention still should be on her. The ding of the elevator tore him from his thoughts and he turned to see Bruce walk in.

"You know this place really is nice" the doctor said. "I was a little skeptical at first, but I think I'm coming around."

"Well then my job is done" Tony replied before turning back to the window. It was a joke, but it lacked the umph the man usually held when he spoke.

"So how is Pepper doing today?" Bruce asked walking over and taking a seat on the couch.

"Good, she's actually meeting with investors today" Tony replied. "You know nothing can keep Pep down"

"Right" Bruce said noting the the faraway look in Tony's eyes as he looked out the window. It was obvious his mind was elsewhere and it was obvious who he was thinking about. "Any word on Katie?" Tony turned abruptly not expecting that question. "C'mon Tony, I could tell you until you're blue in the face that you shouldn't get obsessive about this , about her, but it won't stop whatever searches you have JARVIS doing at the moment, or it won't stop you from hacking every government agency you know to find any information about her. You care about her and maybe I don't understand to scope of your relationship, but I understand that right now you're worried. Maybe even a little scared."

"I'm not scared" Tony replied turning back to the window. "She's alive, I know she's alive. I just don't know where she is, but I will."

"Have you talked to Pepper about this?" Bruce asked and Tony sighed loudly before turning and walking over to pour himself a drink.

"Why is it that whenever Katie's name is mentioned you feel that I should talk to Pepper?" Tony asked. "Look Katie is my friend, and Pepper knows that"

"I'm your friend, would you focus everything you have to finding me if I had disappeared?"

"Probably, but you know who definitely would?" Tony asked. "The woman who trapped you in a men's bathroom with a fire extinguisher to help you with your nanomeds."

"I didn't need help-"

"But it didn't stop her from giving it" Tony said interrupting him.

"Look you're right, I just don't think you should drive yourself crazy over this when you don't even know what's happened?" Bruce said standing to his feet. "For all we know she could've ran again."

"No, not without seeing her brother" Tony replied taking a sip from his glass. "Something else is going on here."

"Maybe, but at the moment we have nothing" Bruce replied before looking over to the tv screen that was playing the hearing. "Wait, that was today wasn't it?" Tony looked over to the screen and nodded.

"This morning, this is just the one hundredth replay" Tony replied with a shake of his head.

"._..So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me." _Natasha's voice spoke before she stood and walked out of the room.

"Looks like SHIELD is gone and all of it's secrets are out." Tony muttered as he brought his glass to his lips.

"You-"

"JARVIS downloaded them the moment they were posted" Tony said answering the question he knew was about to be asked.

"Have you looked at them yet?" Bruce asked and Tony shook his head.

"It's like that moment you see your first horror movie. You think its going to be awesome, but then you see it and can't sleep for weeks afterwards" Tony replied. "I have the holy grail of secrets waiting for me and I don't want to look at it" he looked back over to Bruce. "I don't think I can handle any more life changing information at the moment"

They were at a diner now. It was strange, because Katie never would've even guessed that she'd be sitting in a booth across from Bucky Barnes, AKA the Winter Soldier in her wildest dreams.

"You're staring again" Bucky said as he looked out the window. He turned back to her. "It's weird, stop it"

"You're weird" Katie countered before sitting back in her seat and glancing around the diner. "It's getting late"

"Your point?" he asked looking down to the menu in front of him.

"My point is I can't be here forever" Katie replied noting that he wouldn't look to her. "You need a friend, someone to talk to, then fine, I'll give you my number, but I've done this already. I've ran as far as I could go" his eyes lifted to meet hers. "Letting me go doesn't mean you're alone because you're not. I'll always be a phone call away and I'm sure Steve won't be that far behind."

"I don't know where to start"

"You already have" Katie said. "That museum, that was you starting. Right now you need to find out what happened. You need to find out where it all happened, you need answers and I could help you, but for me to do that I have to go back" Bucky turned away. "I have people waiting for me and I can't disappear, not again."

"So you're leaving" Bucky said as a statement, rather than a question. "And I'm not" Once again they were surrounded by silence.

"Yeah, but first how about some pie" Katie said before looking down to the menu. He smirked slightly before looking down to his own menu.

Natasha walked into Matthew's room to find the man still lying their unconscious and Clint still sitting in the chair beside him.

"You really love her, don't you?" Natasha asked and Clint looked over to her. "I mean that's the only reason I can come up with for why you've been glued to that chair since he was brought in"

"How was the hearing?" Clint asked rubbing his fingers over his tired eyes.

"As expected" Natasha replied walking into the room, her eyes on Matthew. "I heard he woke up"

"Yeah for like a second" Clint said. "He was looking for her and when he didn't see her he just-" Clint shook his head before bringing his face into his hands.

"She's not dead" Natasha spoke and Clint lifted his head to her. "A team has combed through water and rubble and she's not there"

"That's not proof that she's alive" Clint said turning to Matthew. "That's proof that there's nothing left of her there. So where is she?"

"I don't know, but I know that if she is out there, she'll be here" Natasha said. Clint simply nodded. "Did you get the text?" she'd gotten a message earlier about meeting Fury tomorrow.

"Yep, I got it" Clint replied.

"Will you be there?"

"I'm not sure yet" Clint replied folding his arms over his chest as he sat back in his seat. "I'm not sure if there's a reason for me to be there. There's no SHIELD, no team. We're all free agents now, so we move and shake to the beat of our own drum."

"SHIELD maybe gone, but the team isn't" Natasha replied and Clint looked over to her as she turned and walked out of the room.

Clint sat there with his eyes on Matthew listening to the beeping and whooshing of the machines around them. There was only one person he needed in that moment and she was nowhere to be found. The closest he would get to her was the man lying before him fighting for his life. Natasha was right, that if Katie was out there, then this was where she would be. He wondered if that's why he hadn't left. He'd been sitting here wondering what his next move should be and he was already doing it. He was hoping that he really did know her, and that her brother was as important to her as he believed he was.

Clint soon let the noise of the room lull him to sleep. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep before he felt something on his lap. At first he thought he was dreaming when he opened his eyes and saw her right there, sitting in his lap and smiling at him.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked seriously doubting that this was happening.

"Nope" Katie replied before turning to look at her brother. she looked over to Matthew. "You know after all this time, I expected to see him up and talking. Has he been like this the whole time?"

"Yeah" Clint replied as his arms wrapped around her like it was second nature to him. "Well he woke up briefly but then he just went under again. Tony is moving him tomorrow, to New York."

"Do the doctors think that's a good idea?" Katie asked looking back over to Clint. "That's hours in the air, anything can happen?"

"The doctors are against it, but Tony is an ass who stomps his feet and throws his cash around until he gets his way" Clint replied.

"Well not this time" Katie said looking over to her brother. "If the doctor thinks we shouldn't move him yet, then we're not moving him"

"Tony is the power of attorney"

"Yeah, when I'm not around, but I'm here now and I'm the one whose taking care of him" Katie replied.

"You're here now" Clint says and Katie turns back to him. "A week later Kat, where the hell have you been?" Katie shook her head, not sure where to even start or even if she should say. A moan escaped her brother's lips and she jumped to her feet and ran to his side.

"Mattie?" Katie asked running her hand through his hair. "It's alright, I'm here. But you got to wake up" she waited and after a few moments, his eyes flit open. "There you are" Matthew looked up to see his smiling sister. "I hope you know I'm going to kick your ass when you get out of here" she felt tears of joy fall down her cheeks. "You scared the shit out of me, don't do that again."

"Well don't work for crazy people again" Matthew replied and Katie laughed before bringing her arm around him in a hug. "Is this affection, you don't do affection"

"Shut up dork and take it like a man" Katie said before placing a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm going to go get the doctor" Clint said before heading to the door. He stopped just as he was about to leave before turning and looking to the pair and smiled before going to to fetch the doctor.

Bucky stood leaning against the hood of his stolen car as he looked up to the hospital Katie had ran inside. He doesn't know why he was standing there waiting. He knew she wasn't coming back, even if he wished she would. Bucky took out his cell phone and dialed the number she'd given him and as expected it went straight to the voice mail.

"Uh, it's me. I figure that's good enough given the circumstances. I wouldn't be expecting many of these calls, but I think I just had to make this one. I did have another reason for why I did what I did and yeah maybe you were sort of right, but there was something else. Something I wasn't sure if I should mention, but after giving it some thought I figure you deserved to know the truth. Pierce didn't kidnap your brother as some attempt to distract you from Insight, that was just an added bonus. He wanted you there because he needed something from you. Something he thought you knew. I never found out what, but I heard him talk about it a couple of times when he thought I wasn't listening. I think there was someone else though. Someone who was feeding him this information. That's all I know and hopefully you can figure out what it's all about." Bucky stood there with the phone pressed to his ear wondering if there was anything else he needed to say before he closed himself off from the world. "You thanked me for saving you so I guess I should do the same. So yeah, thank-" a beep ended the message right there. He pulled the phone from his ear before looking down to it and shaking his head and sliding it into his pocket. He glanced back up to the hospital before turning and heading over to get back into the truck.

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_**A/N: Oooh, another mystery is up ahead. What did Pierce think she knew? Whose the one who planted the idea in his head? I guess we will find out soon enough.** _


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, but hey at least I'm not empty handed.**

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

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It would seem that at various points in her life, Katie would find herself surrounded by death. And one of those times was now. Many would find themselves nervous as the stench of death passed their nostrils, but Katie...Katie was currently enjoying a nice warm pretzel.

"I can't believe you're making me buy you a pretzel" Clint said handing a couple of bills to the guy holding the pretzel cart. "I can't believe there's a pretzel cart in front of a cemetery" he shook his head as he watched the guy push his cart away.

"I've seen weirder things" Katie replied before taking a bit of her pretzel. "It's so good" she held it over to him. "Wanna bite?"

"You seem cheerful this morning" Clint replied before taking a bite from the pretzel. "That's the last feeling people have when they're walking around a cemetery."

"I guess I'm finally hopeful that my life doesn't have to be a shit storm any more" Katie replied. "There's no more SHIELD or HYDRA to worry about, my brother is looking like he's getting better, I have my-" she looked over to Clint. "Still have to discuss what this is going to be"

"What's to discuss, you're my girl, I'm your guy, that's all to it" Clint replied and Katie slightly chuckled before taking a bite. "What, I was being serious"

"I know" Katie replied. "But I still have trust issues when it comes to this, us. I mean we did this once and it bit us in the ass."

"Things are different now" Clint replied bringing an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. "A lot of the obstacles are out of the way" Katie smiled before feeling her pretzel plucked from her hand. She turned to see Rick Mason taking a big bite of her pretzel. "Not all of them though"

"You dick, give me that back!" Katie said reached forward to grab the pretzel. Mason simply stuffed the rest into his mouth and smiled. "Ugh, you suck"

"I love you too worm" Mason said before looking over to Clint. "I guess you were invited to this farewell party as well. Sad, I was hoping after worm told you of our sordid affair you'd be too distraught to see me"

"What the hell are you talking about Mason?" Clint asked clearly annoyed with the man's mere presence. Mason simply turned to Katie and smiled.

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Rick asked and Katie rolled her eyes before turning to Clint.

"In a moment that I can only describe as momentary insanity, I kissed this jackass on the cheek" Katie said and she noticed the slight rise of Clint's eyebrows. "It will not happen again, especially since I'm probably going to kick his ass for taking my pretzel."

"Aw, the sweet talk is too much" Rick said placing a hand above his heart, before turning and walking off. Clint found himself about to follow after him, but Katie grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"You know I can't ever kiss you now, right?" Clint said looking over to Katie. "You're like ruined forever and I don't think there's anything that can save you" Katie stopped and turned away from him, placing the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically.

"I guess I will have to live the rest of my days without the feel of your lips on mine" Katie spoke before letting out a few fake sniffles. "I fear I may not survive, but it's the price I will pay for letting myself be defiled by a jackass." she let out a laugh, unable to keep up the act before turning back to Clint and smiling sweetly to him. "Who are you kidding, you can't resist me" she was right and he knew it. "Now kiss me" Clint simply shook head as he laughed at the faces she was making. "C'mon, sugar lips, right here on the kisser"

"You're such a dork" Clint replied looking down to her before bringing his lips to hers. "But you're my dork"

"Truer words were never spoken" Katie replied before pressing a peck to his lips when they were suddenly rudely interrupted.

"People are trying to rest in peace here" a voice spoke from behind them and they turned to see Natasha. "They don't want you two making out over their bodies." she eyed Katie and smirked. "You're not dead, how fortunate for you"

"I think you should know I know the truth" Katie said walking over to the woman. "You like me, maybe even have a special place for me in that spot where your heart used to be"

"I highly doubt it" Natasha replied before walking around the pair.

"I see she still hasn't cured that chronic constipation problem?" Katie said looking over to Clint who just burst out laughing before grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. They walked up spotting the others, including Steve and Sam standing around the headstone. Steve spots them and he smiles before walking over. "Go, I'm going to catch up" Clint looks over and nods before going over to others passing Steve on the way.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you" Steve said bringing to woman into a hug she didn't expect. She accepted it though and even hugged back. He pulled from the hug and looked her over. "You're a crazy person, you know that. There was no reason you should've placed yourself in harm because of me."

"You're my friend, that's reason enough for me" Katie said with a shrug. "Plus there was something I could do, and if something went wrong I didn't want to look back on that moment knowing I didn't do anything."

"How did you?" Steve asked. "I mean I dropped to server blade and I was made to believe that it was the only thing that could deactivate the hellicarrier."

"No it was the easy way to deactivate the carrier, but every techie builds more than one key to a lock" Katie replied. "When I worked for SHIELD, my first couple of days were spent following one of the senior techs around. I remember seeing server blades and they were in the exact pattern they were in that ship."

"You think the carriers were in development that far back?"

"Maybe or maybe the server blades were an ends to a means. They needed something that could hold their programming and blades could do that. I guess something good did come from my time at the compound."

"I have a feeling your work there did a lot of good, including finding me" Steve replied as he held out a hand to her. "On the battle field, your life was your comrades and their life was yours." Katie smiled placing her hand in his. "I'm glad to know that in the time of need you have my back, and I want you to know that I will always have yours"

"That's good to know" Katie replied shaking his hand. Steve lifted his head and Katie turned following his eyes to see a familiar figure headed their way. It was Fury, sans eye patch. He now wore a pair of dark sunglasses and a hoodie brought over his head. "You raided my closet, didn't you?"

"One would think at some point your wit would get old" Fury said walking over to her. "And that person would be right" he walked around her and she and Steve followed behind. Fury walked over and looked at the grave stone that held his name. "So" he glanced over to Steve and Katie. "You've experienced this sort of thing before?"

"You get used to it" Steve replies.

"I paid a kid to destroy mine" Katie said and they all looked over to her. "A story for a different time"

"We've been data-mining HYDRA's files" Fury said. "Looks like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship"

"So cutting off the head didn't kill the body?" Katie asked and Fury simply shrugged. "Unless we didn't cut off the head"

"All things I hope to find out on my trip to Europe" Fury said . "I was hoping you all would join me"

"There's something I gotta do first" Steve said cryptically, but Fury simply nodded before looking over to Sam.

"What about you Wilson?"

"I'm more of a soldier than a spy" Sam said and Fury nodded.

"Well you can count me in" Mason says walking to stand beside Fury. "I'm not doing anything at the moment, and Europe with the boss just seems like a recipe for trouble, which I'm always down for" Fury shook his head before looking over Katie and Clint who shared a look. Clint turned back to the director, feeling that familiar tug of the agent inside of him telling him to go where he belonged. He turned back to Katie and realized that she was where he belonged.

"I think we're going to sit this one out" Clint said. Katie smiled before they both turned to the director. "At least for now you know, we could use a vacation"

"I understand" Fury said. "Alright then." he reaches out and shakes all of their hands before turning and looking to his gravestone. "Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me here" and with that the man turns and walks away.

"It's been fun people" Mason says with a small salute. "Nat, call me" he looks over to Katie and winks before turning to catch up to Fury.

"A few minutes more with that guy and I was going to hit him" Clint muttered. Katie's eyes were on the Nick who stopped and turned to her. He nudged his head for her to come over.

"I'll be right back" Katie said before walking over. Nick waved a hand for Mason to go along to the car before Katie came over. "You didn't want the others to hear how much you're going to miss me, did you?"

"Unfortunately no" Fury said digging into his pocket and pulling out a flash drive. "When digging through HYDRA's files I found this. I debated on whether I should hand it over,but history has taught me that the truth comes out eventually."

"What is it?" Katie asked looking down to the device.

"You" Fury replied and Katie looked over to him in confusion. "Your father, your mother, your grandparents. This is your life."

"You're joking?" Katie says plucking the device from his hand. "Why would my life be in some HYDRA files?"

"I don't know, but I think at some point you should find out" Nick replies and Katie looks over to him and nods before slipping the flash drive into her pocket. "I would also consider getting in contact with Coulson at some point, I have a feeling he may need your assistance, especially after all of this"

"You run his team?" Katie asked.

"A list is still formulating" Nick replies.

"If he's up in the air with traitors, that list needs to be done now." Katie says. "Send me the files and I'll crank out a list faster then whatever idiots you have working on this" she saw a hint of a smile on the man's face. "Stop doing that, it's disturbing" she shook her head before turning and walking away.

The others had disperse, all but Clint who stood waiting for her. He watched her closely waiting for her to say something.

"So, what was that about?" Clint asked and Katie shrugged.

"Can you believe he wanted to tell me that he was going to miss me and that I was always his favorite." Katie said with a shake of her head. "And I was just like chill bro." Clint looked to her incredulously. "What you don't believe me?"

"No, I really don't" Clint replied before turning to see Steve and Sam coming over. Katie peered over to see Natasha in the distance already leaving.

"I can't believe she didn't even say goodbye" Katie sighed.

"I can't believe you thought she would" Clint muttered before looking over to Steve and Sam. "So you guys heading out."

"Yeah, I have something that I have to do" Steve replied and Katie smiled. She knew the kind of man Steve was and knew that he wouldn't just let Bucky roam around helpless.

"And I'm tagging along for the ride" Sam replied with a nod. "What about you two?" Clint and Katie share a look and smiled before turning to the pair.

"We have no idea" Clint replied.

"And we're fine with that" Katie added reaching over to grab Clint's hand. "First I have to make sure my brother isn't completely damaged from this whole experience"

"How is Matthew doing?" Steve asked.

"He seems fine for someone who took a week to wake up" Katie said with a shrug before looking down to her watch. "I'm supposed to meet with his doctors."

"Right, well I I guess I will see you later" Steve said stepping forward and bringing Katie into a hug. "I have a phone that I can partially understand, and I know the basics of texting, but just don't get too fancy with the acronyms."

"Oh, LOL cap" Katie said swatting his arm playfully.

"LMAO you guys" Clint said laughing as well.

"OMG, look at his face" Sam said noting the captain's perplexed glare.

"Funny, real funny you guys" Steve said with a shake of his head. "You guys don't see how lazy our society has gotten that it can't even use full sentences anymore."

"Aw, JK Steve" Katie replied and he simply waved her away. "See you later" Steve and Sam shook Clint's hand before turning and heading off. "We should get going" Katie looks over to Clint who brings his arm around her. "You're awfully touchy feely all of a sudden" she placed her hands above his chest.

"Maybe I'm trying to catch up on all the time that I wasn't able to just touch you" Clint said and Katie smiled. She was hesitant at first to give into this again after being so heart broken the last time. Her head was screaming at her that this was a mistake and that it can only end one way, but then her heart spoke up. And it said that she couldn't go another day without being his. It told her that there was no comparable feeling to when he looked at her the way he did. The moment was interrupted by her phone ringing and she sighed before bringing it to her ear.

"This is Katie" she greeted and then she heard something that wiped the smile completely off her face. "What!" Clint looked confused before she grabbed his hand and just pulled him with her.

He didn't find out what was going on until they were speeding down the street. He tried to calm her down when they arrived at the hospital and she looked like she was going to kick at least one person's ass. She pushed inside Matthew's room to find him sitting up, now in his regular clothes as if ready to go. Matthew looked over to his sister and saw the look on her face and just knew his sister was not happy.

"Rinny-" his words were cut off by a nurse walking in with a clip board in her hand. Katie snatched the clip board and looked down to it.

"Excuse me, who-"

"It's fine, she's my sister" Matthew intervened looking over to Katie who read over the forms.

"These are early release forms" Katie said looking between her brother and the nurse. "Why are you bringing him early release forms when he hasn't been awake a full twenty four hours."

"Nurse Lauren you want to give me a moment with my sister?" Matthew asked and the nurse simply nodded before hurrying out of the room. Matthew turned back to his sister, but caught sight of Clint who was hanging back by the door. "You want to go too secret agent dude"

"Matt-"

"No, it's fine, I'll leave you two alone" Clint said before turning and leaving as well. Katie turned back to her brother with a glare.

"That was rude"

"No, that was me, now what the hell are you freaking out about?" Matthew asked and Katie just waved the clipboard in the air. "Look I talked to Tony and-"

"I should've known this was Tony's doing" Katie said with a shake of her head already thinking up ways to hurt the man.

"Will you let me finish." Matthew groaned in annoyance. "I talked to Tony this morning and he said that he had the whole medical unit all set up at the tower and that whenever I'm ready then it will be ready. Sis, I'm ready to get the hell out of DC."

"What do your doctors says?"

"That there's risks, but there will be risks today and weeks from now" Matthew replied. "Right now DC holds a lot of bad memories and with all this crap on the news and the internet I would think you would want to get out as well"

"That crap is everywhere" Katie muttered tossing the clipboard on the bed. "Just like what you're feeling won't go away just because you're in New York."

"I know, but I'll at least have a semblance of safety. I just want to go home."

Katie looked at him for a moment before nodding. She didn't want to do this, not this soon, but it seemed her brother was dead set to do this.

"Alright, I'll find us a way-"

"Already done" Matthew interrupted.

"Tony?" Katie asked and her brother simply nodded. "Oh God bless Tony Stark" she mutters sarcastically with a shake of her head.

Soon they find themselves on one of Tony's private planes headed to New York. Katie sits beside Clint, glaring over to the woman Tony sent who claims she's a nurse. The perky blonde whose clothes are a little too revealing made Katie doubt that very much.

"You know if you keep doing that your face is going to stay like that" Clint said looking over to the glare on her face.

"Am I crazy?" Katie asked turning to him. "For being a little concerned that my brother who needs round the clock medical attention is in the hands of a playboy bunny"

"That's not nice" Clint said looking over to the nurse as she reached down to check Matthew's pulse, giving the young man a peek down her blouse. "Maybe she's just a little-"

"She's a prostitute" Katie said flat out causing Clint to erupt with laughter. "I'm serious. Tony would hire a prostitute to pretend that she's a nurse just to, I don't know make Matthew happy"

"And I would say it's working" Clint says noticing the never leaving grin on Matthew's face. "Look he seems fine, so let him just have his nurse"

"Hooker" Katie corrected before turning to look out the window. She felt a hand wrap around hers and a smile came to her lips as she turned back to him. He was smiling that smile that always made the butterflies flutter in her stomach. "Thanks for this. I know New York and Tony are the last thing you would like to be dealing with right now."

"I'm fine, I can deal with Stark" Clint replied giving her hand a squeeze. "Right now I think I'm not going to let little things like Star k get to me. I think I'm going to focus on more important things." Katie smiled as he reached forward bringing his lips to hers.

Matthew couldn't stop smiling as he watched his nurse turn and saunter back to her seat, his eyes on her long legs. He heard the sound of light giggling and turned to see his sister and the agent, as he was choosing to call him, kissing. The smile fell from his lips and turned into a scowl.

"I'm definitely going to have to do something about this" he muttered.

New York hadn't changed since the last time they were there. People where bustling about like aliens hadn't appeared from a hole in the sky. They were picked up by a car sent by Tony to bring them to the tower.

"It's strange being back here" Katie said looking out the window. "It's like nothing happened."

"What did you expect?" Clint asked looking over to her. "The world thinks they're safe. SHIELD did that. The Avengers did that. You did that" she glanced over to him and smiled.

"So now the question is, now that there's no SHIELD, and the Avengers are all over the world, is it really safe?" Katie asked turning back to look out the window.

"Well for now it is" Clint said reaching over and taking her hand.

Matthew glanced back from his spot in the front seat and simply shook his head. He needed to get rid of the agent and soon. Katie looked up a head and spotted the tower instantly.

"Big and gaudy, just like I would expect from Stark" Clint said and Katie swatted his arm lightly.

"Hey, I helped make that too" Katie said looking up to the tower. "I was apart of something that's going to be around forever and will do good."

"You've already been apart of something good" Clint said. "I know SHIELD wasn't all we thought it was, but there was some good there. And you were apart of that. We all were." The car came to a stop and they all looked up to the tall building. "I guess it's time to get this over with"

"We'll be fine" Katie said before they all finally got out and headed inside. She couldn't stop the smile that came to her lips as she looked at the beautiful building. It was everything that they had dreamed it to be.

"It's good to be home" Matthew said looking around the massive space. He wish he could walk, but his sister made him promise to stay in his wheelchair. He looked over to his nurse and pointed toward the elevators. "We have to get on the private elevators." the nurse nodded before pushing him along.

"Hey" Clint says grabbing Katie's hand as she continued to marvel. "We should go" Katie nodded and let him pull her away. They all stepped onto the elevator before the nurse pressed a button, but before the doors closed Katie reached out a hand and stopped them before turning to the nurse.

"I want to thank you from me and my brother Nurse-" Katie swallowed her sarcasm. "Candy, but I don't think we require your assistance any longer."

"Wait, what-" Matthew asked angrily. "You can't-" Katie held up a hand stopping him before looking back to the nurse.

"I'm sure Mr. Stark has paid you ridiculously amounts of money so I doubt this will be any kind of set back" Katie replied before moving aside to let the woman pass. "I hope you understand."

"I do" Candy replied before giving a smile to Matthew before stepping off the elevator. Katie stepped inside and let the doors closed.

"You had no right to do that" Matthew said glaring up to his sister.

"She wasn't a nurse and you need-"

"Don't tell me what I need, because I'm actually good with knowing what I need!" Matthew snapped.

"Oh, come off it, some hooker pretending to be a nurse is the last thing you need right now!" Katie countered. "So stop being such a brat-"

"Stop pretending to be my mother, because you're not!" Matthew growled standing to his feet. "So stop treating me like some little kid. I am an adult and I don't need you making decisions for me, I can do that all on my own." he felt slightly dizzy and dropped back into his wheelchair.

"Well you look like it" Katie muttered sarcastically. "JARVIS, are you there bud?"

"Yes Katie" The AI's voice spoke. "And may I say it is great to have you back." Katie smiled. Tony had definitely been working on the AI. He had more personality than she remembered.

"It's good to be back" Katie replied. "Did Mr. Stark set us up with some rooms?"

"Yes, he prepared two rooms on the housing sector of the tower" JARVIS replied.

"Alright, I think Matthew would rather get himself to medical and Clint and I will just head to those rooms"

"Oh, don't be such a big baby" Matthew groaned but Katie ignored him.

"Just let us off on our floor" Katie said. Soon the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. She looked over to Clint who simply shook his head. "Are you coming?"

"Don't you think you're overreacting, just a little bit?" Clint asked and Katie's eyebrows rose in shock. "I'm not taking sides here, but-"

"Oh, that's exactly what you're doing" Katie said with a slight shake of her head before stepping off the elevator. "Fine." She looked between them. "I hope you two are very happy together." she turned and walked away as the doors closed.

"This is not how I saw this going" Clint muttered running a hand over his tired eyes.

"She'll be fine, she'll get over it." Matthew replied and Clint turned to him. "I don't know why she's so upset, I'm the one who was kidnapped and beat within inches of my life, maybe I deserve a little Candy."

"Dude you did not just say that" Clint said with a shake of his head. Matthew glared up to him.

"What are you doing here anyways, you're the last person I want help from." Soon the doors slid opened and there standing smiling widely was Tony, his arms out wide. He looked between Matthew and Clint and around the elevator before the smile fell.

"What the hell did you two do to my kitten?" Tony asked gaining glares from both men. Matthew rolled himself out onto the medical unit of the tower. It looked very futuristic with all the white and monitors all over the place. "Are one of you going to answer me?"

"She and Matthew had a little tiff after she fired his nurse" Clint replied and Tony let out a snort.

"She called her a hooker!" Matthew said spinning around. "I mean she doesn't know anything about the woman"

"To be honest, I don't really know much about her" Tony said with a shrug. "Her credentials were a little spotty, but she looked good and I thought you could use a little sexual healing"

"You did not just say that" Clint said with a shake of his head.

"Well where is my kitten now?"

"Will you stop calling her that, she has a name and it's not kitten" Clint said already annoyed with the man. Tony didn't seemed bothered and simply turned to Matthew.

"She went to her room" Matthew sighed. Tony nodded and before turning and getting on the elevator. "Are you leaving, I just got here. This isn't about her you know, I'm the one who was kidnapped and beaten by a weird guy who liked to wear masks."

"Were you always this selfish?" Tony asked walking back over to him. "I swear it's 'I this' and 'I that' there are other people on this planet. Look around Mattie, this floor was made possible because of you."

"What are you talking about?" Matthew asked glancing around the wing.

"Well the medical wing of the tower was put on the back burner. It was here but it wasn't fully functional and there wasn't any staff yet, but now-" Tony turned the back of Matthew's wheel chair to show a woman and man both dressed in medical attire. "Your own medical team. Meet nurse Blair. Your sister will like her. Pepper chose her and apparently she totally over qualified to be here. Then there is Dr. Ramsey, he was hand picked by our resident rage monster. Also very over qualified to be here. But I'm paying them ridiculous amounts of money to be here to get my PA up and back to work." Tony ruffled the man's hair before turning and walking back to the elevator. "So get settled in and I'll check in with you later."

Matthew simply shook his head before looking over to Clint who seemed to be standing awkwardly beside him.

"I don't think I've done anything that would make you believe that I would like you to be here right now" Matthew said. Clint simply shook his head before turning and stepping onto the elevator again.

"Alright Mr. Banks" Nurse Lauren said with a wide smile as she walked over and grabbed the back of his wheel chair. "Lets show you to your room." Matthew looked up to his new nurse who didn't look nearly as perfect as Candy and just sighed.

Katie looked around the massive apartment and couldn't actually believe it. It was big and flashy and totally something Tony would design. But she did smile at the computers set up in what looked like a office. She had a wall of monitors to keep her informed of what was happening in the world.

"JARVIS, when did Tony do all of this?" Katie asked as she walked through the rooms.

"This was one of the very first designs Mr. Stark created" JARVIS replied and Katie simply smiled before plopping down on a sofa that was strategically placed in front of a large picture window giving her a beautiful view of the city. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the flash drive Fury had given her. It seemed to be burning a hold in her pocket all day. She tried putting it out of her mind and she tried telling herself to just let it go. Here she was finally free from running, finally free of the crap and this tiny flash could jeopardize that. "JARVIS, does Tony have you reporting to him on all computer activity in the tower?"

"Only suspicious activity is reported to Mr. Stark" JARVIS replied. "But I am programmed to monitor and record all activity."

"Of course you are" Katie said rolling the flash in her hand. If she was going to look into this, she wasn't going to pull anyone else into it. "I bet you're also suppose to tell Mr. Stark the moment I start fiddling with your innards."

"Yes, I am to report to him immediately the moment my programming is being altered" the AI stated and Katie simply sighed. She had no idea what was on the flash and she didn't want to risk JARVIS giving the information to anyone she didn't want.

"I should just let this go" Katie muttered before standing to her feet and walking back into the office, tossing the flash into the bottom drawer of her desk. After closing the drawer, she stood there hesitant, but finally shook off the thought before turning to go take a shower.

Tony and Clint rode the elevator in their usual silence. The two had no illusions that they were friends. Sure in a time of a crisis they worked together, efficiently, but in moments like this it was quite clear neither wished to be around the other.

"So how is she?" Tony asked breaking the silence. Clint glanced over to him and shrugged.

"Fine, I guess" Clint replied not really wanting to get into this discussion. He figured his short answer would show the man that, but unfortunately for him either Tony didn't get the hint or just didn't care.

"I doubt that" Tony sighed turning away from the man. "You see she spent the past year and a half alone, she found out her father's death was part of some plot cooked up by HYDRA, the only family she has was kidnapped and hurt and in her head it was because of her, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say she's anything but fine." Tony glanced over to the man once again and decided to try again. "So I ask you once more, how is she?"

"Tough" Clint replied. "If she's affected, she's not showing and I know the last thing she wants to do is talk about it"

"Who cares what she wants" Tony replied and Clint turned to him with a look of annoyance. "She doesn't want to talk about it because that makes it easy. But her bottling all this crap inside of her is going to come out sooner or later and probably in a bad way. So if you love her like you say-"

"Stark, enough" Clint says his patience running thin with the man. Sure he knew he was right. He knew that Katie had been through a lot and even though she's trying her best to put up a front on the outside, that she was probably a wreck on the inside. But there was no way he was going to give Tony the satisfaction of knowing that he actually agreed with him on something.

"No, if you love her like you claim you will make sure she really is alright, you'll make her talk"

"Thanks for the advice, but how about you do everyone a favor and focus on your girlfriend who I don't think would be too happy to see you this up in arms about someone who isn't her." Clint replies as the doors slide open.

"She's my friend Barton" Tony replies before walking from the elevator, Clint following behind him begrudgingly. "And like it or not, I'm going to be hers."

"While we're here anyways" Clint says causing Tony to stop and turn to him.

"And what the hell does that mean?" Tony asked his playful tone more aggressive.

"It means how about you worry about your girlfriend and I'll worry about mine" Clint says turning to the door about to knock. Tony reaches up and types in a code on the pad next to the door and it suddenly opens.

"I'm going to have her change that" Clint says looking over to the man.

"Well until she does..." Tony says before stepping inside the apartment and stopping right in front of Clint before he could come inside. "Why don't you wait out here" and before the man could reply, Tony had closed the door in his face. "JARVIS, that door stays locked, alright buddy?"

"As you wish, sir" the AI replied. "But I do not believe Katie will be pleased with your juvenile display with Agent Barton."

"That's strange, because I actually think it'll make her laugh" Tony says sauntering into the apartment letting his eyes scan over the place. "Now where is my kitten."

"She has just stepped out of the shower" JARVIS informed and Tony nodded before walking over to the window. He stood there until her heard footsteps.

"Did you break into my apartment?" he heard her ask and he smiled before turning to see her drying her hair with a towel as she wore one of the Stark bathrobes he'd placed in all the bathrooms.

"Actually, no" he said. "My place, I sort of have a key."

"Well you should know I'm going to change my key" Katie replied before walking over to him. "I expected a larger greeting from you. I thought there would be a marching band and baton throwing. I think I'm a little disappointed."

"Hey, you were supposed to come up with Matt, you missed the the flame throwing and the donkey show" Tony says and Katie just shook her head.

"It's just not a Tony Stark party with out a donkey show" she sighed before turning. "I'm going to get changed."

"Uh, wait" Tony calls startling her for a moment before she turns to him. "We should talk."

"We will, once I'm wearing more than this robe" Katie says with a nod before turning and heading to her bedroom. She stopped once again when she heard what sounded like knocking. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Tony asked innocently. "I don't hear anything. Nothing at all. Weren't you going to get changed so we could talk." Katie looked at him suspiciously before turning to go back to her room. She heard the knocking again and stopped.

"JARVIS is someone outside my door?" Katie asked.

"Don't answer that question JARVIS!" Tony called and Katie turned a glare to him. "Seriously all I'm asking for is like five minutes" she simply shook her head before walking over and pulling open the door to see a not too happy Clint Barton. He stormed into the room about to go over to Tony, but Katie simply placed herself in front of him.

"You're an asshole you know that right?" Clint asked before looking down to Katie. "He locked me out there."

"Well I needed to talk to her without the ever-annoying presence of big bird" Tony quipped. Clint tried to go over to him, but Katie held him back.

"Can we please chill" Katie said looking between the two men. "I don't know what's going on with you two right now, but I'm seriously not in the mood. You both will get kicked out if it doesn't stop."

"Well he started it!" both men say and Katie sighs at how childish they were being.

"And I'm ending it" she replies. "Now give me one minute to change and then we can start being friends again, ok?" neither said any thing. Katie just shook her head. "Just don't kill each other while I'm gone." and with that she turned and walked back to her bedroom.

"That wasn't funny Stark" Clint said when she was gone.

"That's odd, because I thought it was hilarious" Tony replies turned back to look out the window. There was a pitcher of water and so he poured himself a glass. "Don't you have something you could be doing right now?" he looked over his shoulder to the man. "I would like to talk to my friend alone."

"Too bad, because the last thing I'm doing right now is leaving her alone with you" Clint countered folding his arms over his chest.

"Well suit your self" Tony muttered before turning back to look out to the window.

Katie soon walked back out, now dressed in a simply pair of jeans and a tshirt. She looked between the two men and waited for someone to say something.

"Alright, I'm here. What's going on?" she asked

"I wanted to talk to you alone" Tony says turning to them. "But since that doesn't seem like it's going to happen, I guess I'll just come out with it" Katie nodded. "Where were you?" she knew that question was coming. No matter how much she tried to dodge it, she knew at some point she was going to have to come clean.

"It's complicated" she said not sure where to even begin.

"It doesn't seem that complicated Kat" Clint says and Katie looked over to him. Now they were just ganging up on her. "You were gone for a week and nobody knew where you were."

"Everyday I was waiting for that call" Tony added and Katie looked to him. "Everyday that passed and you still weren't found-" he shook his head. "Uncomplicate it for us."

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts has returned and is asking for you." JARVIS informed to Tony's annoyance.

"Tell her I'm busy" Tony replied.

"Don't do that" Katie said looking over to him. "You can go, this isn't a big deal."

"It's is a big deal Kat!" Clint said and Katie sighed. She was avoiding the issues just like she'd been doing since she came back. "You were gone and there was nothing. We had nothing. Nowhere to even begin looking. Do you have any idea what that did to me?"

"I'm sorry, it wasn't my-" she let out a sigh. "Look I'm here now, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Why can't that be enough?"

"Because it's just not" Tony said before stalking out the door. Katie ran her hand through her damp hair before looking over to Clint who seemed to be refusing to even look at her.

"He's right" Clint says turning to her. "It's not enough." he took a step closer to her bringing them only inches apart. He towered over her and she looked up into his eyes. "You went into that carrier and then it blew up and you didn't come out. I deserve to know what the hell happened?" she closed her eyes and sighed. "Kat-"

"Fine" she says suddenly before opening her eyes. " You're right, you deserve to know and I'll tell you, but just listen to everything before you react." he nods before Katie pulls him over to sit on the couch beside her. "The truth is I don't remember much about that carrier after I blacked out, but I'm sure of one thing."

"What's that?"

"Bucky Barnes saved my life" she said with a slight smile. "Again." she saw the expected look of confusion with the crease of his forehead. "Bucky pulled me out of the water."

"And then...?"

"And then he pulled me into a stolen truck" Katie says seeing Clint's eyes go wide. "Before you overreact, just listen." Clint let out a sigh but nodded. "He wasn't trying to hurt me, he needed help and thought I was the one who could give it to him."

Tony stormed into his penthouse, walking straight to the table of alcohol he had sitting in the corner of the room.

"There you are" Pepper's voice said from behind him. He turned and she saw the glass of brown liquor in his hand. "It's early isn't it."

"For me, it's never too early" Tony says with a tight smile before taking a sip.

"Is everything alright?" Pepper asked noticing his odd behavior. He simply shakes his head before pouring himself another glass. "You saw her didn't you?"

"Who?" Tony asked purposefully playing dumb. Pepper gave him a knowing look. "If by her you mean Katie, then yes I did see her and I saw Matthew and I even had the pleasure of seeing Agent Bird in my ass."

"Clint's here?" Pepper asks her tone obviously pleased. "That's great" Tony gave her a questioning look. "Why are you in a mood?"

"I asked her about the week and she wouldn't give me an answer" Tony says.

"Honestly Tony, she doesn't have to" Pepper says walking over to him. "And you shouldn't get so worked up over this. She's an adult and she's alive and safe. Just be happy that you have your friend back."

"Right" Tony says sitting the glass down before placing his hands around her waist. "You're right, just like you always are." her brought his lips to hers in a short but passion filled kiss. "How was your day?"

"Busy" Pepper says turning and walking over to pick up her phone. "With work and this party-" she stopped and looked over to him. "Wait, did you tell her?"

"No, I was going to, but it wasn't the right time" Tony replied and Pepper gave him a look, "Pep, I'm going to tell her."

"Soon, because I'm going to need to know whose going to be at this party if we want there to be enough food" Pepper says looking back down to her phone. "Crap, my phone's about to die." she smiles over to Tony. "I'll be right back." she turns and head to their bedroom.

"Speaking of phones did you get the-"

"Coffee table!" she calls back already knowing what he was about to ask. Tony looks down to the coffee table to see the box. He walked over and tore it open to reveal the Stark phone. It was Katie's, since he was pretty sure her's was destroyed in her last escapade. He had it configured with the same numbers and passwords as the last one. It was going to be his gift to her. Now he was going to have to calm himself before he gave it to her. He powered it up to make sure everything was working properly, and the moment he did he noticed that she already had a missed call and a voice message. His conscious was telling him not to do what he was thinking about doing, but for some reason the message didn't make it to his fingers because he was already typing away.

"Sir, I don't think-"

"No nagging JARVIS" Tony interrupted before bringing the phone to his ear. He took a deep breath before listening to the unfamiliar voice.

"_Uh, it's me. I figure that's good enough given the circumstances. I wouldn't be expecting many of these calls, but I think I just had to make this one..."_

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**A/N: Of course Tony's not one to just let sleeping dogs lie, especially when it comes to his kitten. Awww, and Katie just tossed the drive in a drawer never to be seen again...not. Plus there's going to be another Stark Par-tay. I wonder what we're going to be celebrating? Well at least parties are always filled with fun and happiness...I'm just not sure the same will be said about this one.  
**

**See-ya next chap!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'm back, and I have two chapters for you. This one got kind of long and so I broke it up into two parts. **

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

* * *

There were times Katie would've killed for silence, but at the moment it seemed to be killing her. She laid in her bed staring up to the ceiling trying to will herself to go to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, her life up until this point would flash in her mind. It wasn't something she cared to think about. A hand, not her own, lazily slid up her stomach and rested right on her breast. She looked over to Clint who was out like a light. He was trained to handle the twists and turns that came with his life and was able to sleep afterwards. She thought she could too, but every time she closed her eyes...well you know. She let out a tired sigh before reaching down and sliding his hand from her before trying to slide from the bed. Only one foot had touched the floor before she was caught.

"Where are you going?" Clint asked groggily looking over to her.

"I can't sleep" she whispered before sliding back in bed and running her fingers through his hair. "Go back to sleep, I'm just going to wander around for a bit."

"Are you alright?" he asked lifting his head slightly.

"I'm fine, I guess I'm not as tired as I thought" she said before pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Go to sleep, I won't be gone long. And if you need me just ask JARVIS to tell you where I am." Clint simply nodded before laying back down. Katie pressed another kiss to the top of his head before standing from the bed and quietly walking into the living room. She grabbed her hoodie and slipped it on, along with a pair of kitten slippers she found in her closet.

The first place she ended up was on the medical unit She hadn't seen Matthew the rest of the day after their fight. She walked out onto the floor where she found a nurse sitting at a desk reading a book. The woman looked over to Katie and stood to her feet.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked.

"I'm Katie, Matthew's sister" Katie replied and the woman simply smiled. "How is he doing?"

"He's here and there. His physical scars are healing, but I think mentally and emotionally he's going to need a lot of time."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been having nightmares. I've been running in and out because of his heart rate increasing. I gave him a mild sedative a few minutes ago which should help him sleep through the night. I suggested he maybe talk with someone, but he shot the idea down."

"He's too proud to admit he needs help" Katie sighed.

"Well maybe you could talk to him" the nurse suggest and Katie simply nodded. "His room is right down that hall" Katie turned and saw a door at the end of a short hallway. "I'll be right out here if you need anything." Katie simply nodded before walking down the hall.

She pushed open the door to the large medical room that looked like anything but a medical room. Tony seemed to have had it designed as if it were a normal bedroom except for the few monitors around. Matthew laid, seamlessly sound asleep, but she did notice the slight tightening of his eye lids. She walked over and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered unable to not feel guilty. He was fine once upon a time. A very well adjusted young man and because of her he'd been tossed in a room and used as a punching bag. And even though he was right here, safe, she knew that when he closed his eyes he still found himself in that room. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on top of his head before resting her forehead against his. "You're alright now. You're safe" she could see him subtly staring to relax. She gave his hand a gently squeeze before deciding to let him sleep.

"He still sleeping?" the nurse asked as Katie simply nodded. "Good, part of the recovery process is just getting rest."

"He was sleep for a week" Katie replied.

"A week is nothing" the woman said with a shake of her head. "His body needs time to heal, but he's stubborn. That much I've learned from these past couple of hours. But I'm more stubborn. He's going to get through this and I'm going to make sure of it.

"You know I don't think I got your name"

"I'm Blair Daniels, Mr. Stark has taken to calling me Nurse Blair, but just Blair is fine." the woman replied with a smile.

"Well it was nice meeting you Blair and thanks for all you're doing for my brother."

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me when he's finally walking out of here" the woman replied and Katie simply nodded.

"Can you call me if he has another nightmare?" Katie asked.

"Sure will and I'll let my relief nurse know to do the same" Blair replied. Katie gave the woman a final nod before turning and stepping back onto the elevator. She wondered where she should head next when a thought suddenly struck her.

"JARVIS, is the lab empty right now?" Katie asked.

"Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark have both retired from the lab" JARVIS informed. "Would you like me to take you there?"

"Yes, please" Katie replied before letting her back rest against the wall. She felt the swift movements of the elevator before it finally stopped and the doors slid open. The moment her feet stepped out of the elevator, Katie simply marveled at the sight before her. She'd been here before, but it would seem that in her absence Tony had made a few changes. She knew he would though. He just had to be doing something and his lab was his favorite play thing. She walked further into the shimmering of his holographic projectors, computer based design tools, and a few new suits that looks completely rebooted since the last time she saw them. The sound of something moving caused her to turn around, but she simply laughed.

"Long time no see Dummy" she said walking over to the robot who looked as if he had a make over as well. "You're looking shiny these days" the robot simply opened and closed his metallic hand and Katie shook her head. "Why do I always get the feeling that you're the smartest person around here" his hand opened and closed again and Katie simply laughed. She walked over to the large holographic projector that sat in the middle of the lab. "JARVIS, I'm supposed to be receiving some files, can you check my private database to see if they have arrived."

"Right away" JARVIS replied. "Yes, there seemed to be a few files that have been added. One is marked as urgent, sender is unknown." soon the files appeared on the screen and Katie reached up to swipe them open. She opened the files Fury sent, one containing Coulson's team, the other were the known listed HYDRA members that were embedded in SHIELD. "JARVIS, I need you to access a file in my database titled SHEPARD. I want you to use it to see if there are any matches between file A and file B. Once the scan is complete send me the results."

"As you wish Katie" JARVIS replied. Katie watched as files opened and soon the screen seemed to be filled with rapidly moving numbers and letters. She heard the sound of the elevator opening behind her. "JARVIS, complete the scan in shadow mode." suddenly the screen went blank before she turned to see a familiar face. "Well if it isn't my favorite jolly green giant." she walked over to him and did what he didn't expect. She hugged him. "It's good to see you."

"You too" Bruce said awkwardly returning the hug. "Tell you the truth, I didn't think I would see you again." Katie pulled back from the hug and looked to him confused. "I thought you'd be as far away from anything as possible."

"You thought I would run?" Katie asked and he simply nodded. "I think I'm over that whole phase in my life. I thought I could actually run from the things I didn't want to deal with, but it would seem that was impossible. So here I am"

"Yeah, here you are" Bruce says before looking up to the screen. "Screen on!" suddenly the projector screen behind Katie powers on, but it's blank. "What were you doing before I came in." "Just getting a lay of the new land" Katie says looking up to the screen. "I helped design this lab and a year and a half later I don't even recognize it."

"That's because Tony can't stand still for two minutes" Bruce said turning back to her. "So I went up to see Matthew earlier. He seems to be in good spirits about his rehabilitation. Most of the damage seems to be superficial, with a little time and patience, he should be up and annoying me in no time."

"I hope so" Katie replied with a slight shake of her head. "I hope he can get back to his life and that this hasn't totally damaged him."

"He's resilient" Bruce said. "And I'm sure Tony will help him forget by throwing expensive, shiny things in his face. It's the Tony Stark way psychologic help." Katie chuckled before looking around the lab. "So did you hear the news yet?"

"There's news?" Katie asked turning back to the doctor. Bruce was unsure if he should be the one to spill the beans on this one. Especially since he wasn't sure of the outcome.

"Maybe Tony should be the one to tell you" Bruce said before turning back to the projector.

"Well is it bad?"

"No, not at all, I just don't think it's my place to say" Bruce replied. Katie would've pushed him, but she decided that it was late and she would give him a break. "So why can't you sleep?"

"My brain won't shut off" Katie sighed walking over to what looked like plans. She began swiping away as Bruce walked over. "This looks interesting."

"Oh, Tony's been working on upgrading the energy from the arc reactors that are powering the suit. We've been working on this one for a while." Bruce watched as her eyes scanned over the code and algorithms pensively. "Maybe you could lend an ear some time?"

"Absolutely" Katie replied before swiping the files away and looking up to Bruce. "What else have you guys been working on?" Bruce simply shook his head before leading her over to the central station.

It was late and Tony should be in bed lying next to his beautiful girlfriend, but instead he sat in front of a blaring fireplace looking down to a cell phone that wasn't his. If he heard the message correctly, it would seem that there still maybe people after Katie. He wasn't sure what to do with that information. Telling Bruce or Pepper would get him the same answer. They would tell him to just stay out of it, especially since his only proof was a voice mail sent by someone he didn't even know. There was only one person he would get answers from and at the moment he didn't care how late it was. He was going to get them.

"JARVIS, is Katie sleep?" Tony asked standing to his feet. "Well it doesn't matter if she is or not."

"Actually, Katie and Dr. Banner are in the lab sir" JARVIS replied and Tony stopped with a look of confusion. "Would you like me to tell Katie that you're looking for her?"

"No, I'll go to them" Tony replied already heading for his personal elevator. "If they're having a brilliant minds meeting without me, there will be hell to pay." Tony was actually whistling as he rode the elevator down to the lab. He'd be lying if he told you that he didn't miss her. Sure he had Bruce and Pepper and even had a visit from Rhodey every now and again, but they weren't her. There were times when he was fooling around in the lab and wished she was there to add to his madness in the way that only she could. He shook his head because he knew it was crazy, and yet the feelings were still there. He really did miss his friend. The doors to the elevator slid open and her voice was the first thing he heard.

"Stop being a little bitch about it!" Katie's voice echoed and Tony found himself instantly curious as he stepped off the elevator.

"I'm not being a bitch, I just don't want to stick it in there" Bruce replied which only made Tony's ear perk up even more. "I know we're friends and all, but I'm not doing that."

"I'm telling you once you do it, it'll change your life" Katie said. "Stick it in, move it around a little bit and I promise it will change your life."

"I'm not sticking anything into anywhere, now stop touching it!" Bruce said and Tony heard Katie laughing at him.

"Ok, what are you two doing and why wasn't I invited" Tony said finally making his presence known. Katie and Bruce look up from their place over to the man who walks over to see what they're doing. "Oh, you're looking at Bruce's anti- viagra device." Katie laughed again looking to the annoyed face of Bruce. "I don't know why you're even bothering, you don't need it."

"Like I've told you, the other guy is unpredictable and uncontrollable and in the case that he decides to destroy another city, I would at least like a back up plan."

"We have a back up plan" Tony replied. "His name is Thor."

"I need more than that" Bruce said with a shake of his head. "I need to know that if he takes over, I still can live with myself afterwards."

"So this thing draws out the gamma energy that makes up the other guy, weakening him?" Katie asked and Bruce nodded.

"Well that's what it will do, once I'm finished." Bruce replied looking down to the bulky device. "It's still a work in progress until I can figure a power source that's strong enough to draw out that kind of energy."

"Have you tried-"

"The arcs, yes and it's not strong enough" Bruce said pulling off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Right now I'm just tripple checking everything to see if I'm missing something."

"Would you like me to look?" Katie asked and Bruce looked over to her. "C'mon, this- the numbers, I'm actually a whiz , so take advantage of me while you can."

"That's what I plan to do" Tony says with a shrug and Katie looked over to him to see a mischievous smile on his face. He was definitely not talking about anything that had to do with science and so she punched him in the arm. "Hey, my lab is a violence free zone."

"Says the man whose building weaponized suits" Katie muttered before turning back to Bruce. "But yeah, I'll take a look at it if you want. A second set of eyes can't hurt."

"Yeah, sure. I'll send them to you" Bruce replied before looking over to Tony. "So what's your reason for not being sleep?" Tony's smile grew before he opened his mouth, but Katie quickly clasp of hand over it before he could speak.

"Are you about to say something outstandingly inappropriate?" Katie asked and he simply nodded her hand still over his mouth. "Then why don't you just keep it to yourself?"

"I second that" Bruce added as Katie removed her hand.

"So you still mad at me?" She asked and Tony shook his head. "Really?"

"What, I don't dwell on the little stuff" Tony said carelessly looking down to his fingernails. "Plus you're a big girl, you don't want to tell me where you disappeared to for a whole week while I was worried sick that something terrible had happened to you, then fine. That's your perogative."

"Wait" Bruce says and they turned to him. "Where were you after the carrier incident?"

"Weren't you listening, it's some deep dark secret that she's refusing to tell" Tony answered for her. Katie gave him an unamused look before turning to Bruce.

"It's not a secret, it's-"

"It's a secret"

"Is not"

"Well by definition it is?"

"You're a child" Katie countered before turning back to Bruce. "And it's not a secret, I'm just not choosing to talk about it." Bruce looked at her for a moment before looking over to Tony.

"That's a secret" Bruce said and Katie huffed in annoyance tossing her hands in the air.

"Fine you want to know where I was, then I'll just tell you" Katie said looking between the two. "I was abducted by asgardians again, taken to Odin who forced me to marry Loki. On the day of our wedding I was able to get back to the bifrost and convince Heimdall to send me home." she let out a breath waited for them to react in someway. They shared a look before Bruce finally spoke.

"I'm going to bed" he said dismissively before looking back to Katie. "Keep your secrets, just as long as it doesn't bite any of us in the ass later." he gave her shoulder a squeeze before nodding to Tony and heading for the elevator. Once he was gone Tony and Katie turned to each other and simply stared without words. After a few moment Katie rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to tap into our psychic genius powers to make you just tell me the truth" Tony said and Katie shook her head.

"That would imply that I'm telling you a lie, which I'm not. I'm just choosing to not share certain details that I feel will not add anything to anything."

"It will add knowledge, peace of mind" Tony replied . "Seriously after everything we've been through you still can't trust me?"

"Are you really trying to guilt trip me right now?" Katie asked before moving past him, bumping his shoulder as she did. "This is not about me not trusting you, this is about me not letting my life explode onto everyone I care about." she turned back to him. "You're good, your life is great so sue me for trying to keep it that way. Honestly I'm fine, and I wasn't anywhere doing anything sordid or dangerous."

"That's kind of hard to believe" Tony said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out her cell phone. "I got you a new phone, figuring the old one was probably destroyed by crazy terrorists" he handed her the phone. "You have a voice mail"

"That you listened to?" Katie asked. He didn't look guilty, he simply shrugged. She shook her head before pressing a button and bringing it to her ear. Soon Bucky's voice began speaking and the confusion was evident in her face. Tony titled his head slightly watching her face portray an array of emotions as she listened. Soon she pulled the phone from her ear and simply looked down to it before looking back up to Tony.

"Who was that?"

"Bucky" she replied to Tony's surprise.

"I'm sorry, did you just say Bucky?" Tony asked. "As in Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier, aka bastard who nearly beat your brother to death?" Katie simply glared but nodded. "That sounded like a very chummy message, I didn't know you were friends with a seventy year old psychopath." Katie shook her head before moving past him to get to the elevator but he caught her arm. "No, you're not just going to walk out on me. Not again, and not on this."

"What do you want?"

"What have I been standing here asking for?" Tony asked. "I want the truth. I want to know that this call was just a prank and that you're still not in some kind of danger." Katie looked down to the phone again, Bucky's words still playing in her head. "Katie-"

"I was with Bucky" Katie said looking back up to him. "When the carrier was destroyed we all fell out. Steve was hurt pretty bad, and I was too" she moved the front of her hair back to reveal a scar. "I don't know what happened to him, but Bucky started to remember who he was and he pulled me and Steve out of that water." She let out a deep sigh. "He left Steve and took me with him."

"Took you where, exactly?"

"On a road trip" She replied looking to his puzzled look. "It was a lot to take in, he was freaking out and he needed help wrapping his head around it. I'm the only one he knows who's come close to knowing what it's like to have been so far gone because of something SHIELD or HYDRA did and lived to tell about it. He needed some direction as to where to go next and he thought I would give it to him."

"And?"

"I told him that I would help him, but that help would have to be with my family. I wasn't going to run again and it seems that's all he wanted to do and so we parted ways. I gave him my number, but I didn't really expect a call." she looked down to the phone again. "I definitely didn't expect this call"

"Do you know what he's talking about?" Tony asked and Katie simply shook his head.

"I always had the feeling that Pierce had ulterior motives for taking Matt, but I didn't know it was for information. I have a lot of information swimming around in my head."

"What's in there that a crazy person would want?" Tony asked and Katie simply shrugged.

"I know this awesome oatmeal cookie recipe" she replied and Tony didn't look amused. He was wearing his serious face and she hated it.

"This isn't funny" Tony said which was a travesty in itself. No one was as childish and as immature as the man in front of her and the fact that he was actually being serious was something she didn't like. "You could be in danger. We have to-"

"No" Katie said placing a hand over his mouth once again. "I'm not letting this cryptic phone call change my life. I'm going to delete it." he muffled something through her hand which she figured was him opposing the idea. "No, I'm deleting it from my phone and we're going to just pretend like we never heard it. And you're definitely not telling Bart about this, because I promise you if he thinks I'm in danger, you won't see me anymore because I'd be locked up in some underground safe house." Tony reached up and pulled her hand from his mouth.

"I don't oppose that idea" Tony said and Katie clasped her hand back over his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Right now all we have are the words of a recently amnesic man who doesn't really know who he is at the moment. If something happens to back this up, then we deal with it. But until then we focus on the here and now. Deal?" he narrowed his eyes and she simply smiled. "Will it make you feel any better if I tell you that I will wear one of your stupid tracking devices?" Tony nods and Katie finally removes her hand.

"I'll have one for you tomorrow" Tony replied and Katie just rolled her eyes. "Katie-"

"I know" she said turning back to him. "If I suspect anything is wrong, I'll let you guys know." Tony took a step forward bringing them closer together before placing his hands on her shoulders.

"If you feel like you're in danger, you let me know" Tony ordered and Katie simply nodded to appease him. "Good, now-" he looked up and let his eyes glaze over the lab. "What do you think of our baby?"

"Our baby?" Katie asked looking over to him. "All my designs are totally gone and replaced with you flashy, look at me decor" she shook her head. "This lab screams Tony Stark."

"What about that?" Tony said pointing over her shoulder. Katie followed his eyes and the moment she saw it she burst out laughing. It was a wall mural of white kitten. "See when you were gone and I would miss you I would look to the wall and know that my kitten was never really far away."

"That's so disturbing" Katie said looking over to the wall. "But from you, it's borderline-"

"Sexy, masculine, intelligent?" Tony asked looking over to her. "All of the above is an option as well."

"You're still the same self centered asshole I know and love" Katie said with a shake over her head before scooting back and sitting on a nearby table. "So tell me what I've missed while I was gone."

"Alright, uh we named Evelyn Miller the new CD of the company and she seems to be doing well" Tony said rolling over a chair and sitting in front of her.

"I did read that, she's a totally better choice than that last asshole you had" Katie replied. "But that's not what I want to know. I used to read about the company all then time while I was gone. What I want to know is what's new with you?" she pointed to his chest. "How's life without a light bulb in your chest?" Tony looked down to his shirt and shrugged.

"It's an adjustment" Tony replied rubbing a hand over his chest where the reactor once sat. "But think I'm getting use to not glowing in the dark. And now at least when people stare at my chest it's because of my awesome body." Katie let out a light laugh that was followed by a yawn. "Looks like someone's ready to call it a night."

"No" Katie says with a shake of her head. "I want to talk, so talk."

"About?"

"How are things with you and Pepper. I haven't seen her around yet, I hope she's not avoiding me"

"No, she's just really busy being superwoman" Tony replied. "She's running a company and planning a-" he coughed the end of the sentence making it totally hard to understandable.

"What?" Katie asked leaning a bit closer. "Planning a what?" Tony sat back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest. "Seriously, talk."

"We're getting married" Tony said abruptly and Katie's eyes widened. He waited for a response, but she simply sat there silently staring at him. "Say something."

"Wow" Katie said simply. "That's a- that's really-" why was she stumbling over her words? "Great, like really great"

"That was horrible" Tony said with a shake of his head. "How about the truth this time?"

"That was the truth" Katie says hopping off the table. "I'm really happy for you guys and I wish you all the best." her words didn't sound too believable and they both knew it. "I should get back up stairs before Bart starts looking for me"

"I thought you wanted to talk?"

"I did and we did so now I'm good" Katie says before turning and heading for the elevator. Tony watched her, unsure what the hell was going on, but he didn't stop her. For some reason he doesn't think he wants to know what this is. It seemed like it maybe drifting to that part of their relationship they weren't suppose to entertain.

"There's a party tomorrow" Tony says before glancing down to his watch. "Actually, tonight. An engagement party or whatever" Katie looks over to him. "I'm telling you this because you are legally obligated to be there as my best friend."

"Well then I guess I will just have to be there then" Katie says with a small smile before stepping onto the elevator. "See ya later" she gave him a small wave as the doors closed. As soon as they did, she dropped her hand to her side and the smile from her face fell instantly.

The next morning she sat at the table in their small kitchen eating a bowl of cereal. She looked up to Clint whose sour face hadn't wavered since she told him about the party tonight.

"Do we really have to go?" he asked for the hundredth time since she told him. "I think I would rather poke my eyes out then spend an evening with a bunch of Tony and Pepper's uptight, stick in their ass friends."

"You'll have me to keep you company" Katie said with a smile before looking down to her cereal. "Plus we probably won't have to be their long. I mean we say hi, give some well wishes and duck out during the toast." she looked back over to him. "I'd say an hour , tops."

"I'm holding you to that" Clint replied reaching over and taking her hand in hers before pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

"Well you keep that up and we're not going to make it to any party tonight" Katie sighed closing her eyes as his lips touched her hand again.

"Well that's an idea isn't it?" Clint replied and Katie looked over to him. "You, me, alone. I'm sure with our combined imagination, it is sure to be a great night."

"Bart, I have to go to this party" Katie replied pulling her hand to him. "And it looks like I'm going to have to get as far away from you to make that happen." Clint narrowed his eyes playfully, a familiar glint hard to miss. "Clint Barton, you better not-" she felt his hand touch her thigh under the table and she jumped to her feet and Clint did the same slowly moving toward her. "We're going to this party and you-" she squealed when he reached to grab her, but she back away. She was trying to be serious, but the smile on her face probably wasn't helping. "You are going to keep it in your pants. You will not seduce me." she began easing toward the door as he moved closer to her. "I"m being serious.

"Yeah, I can tell" Clint said with a smile of his own. "I just think tonight could be put to better use. It's been a long time since we-" he wagged his eyes brows and Katie simply shook her head. "Waiting any more is just torture."

"Fine, then how about we compromise. We go to this party for at least an hour-" Clint groaned but Katie took only a few steps toward him, her hands resting on his chest. "And I promise that afterwards our waiting is over." she saw that glint in his eyes once more before he brought his lips to her. This kiss wasn't as chaste as she hoped it would be, but passionate. It was distracting and today, with so much to do, she couldn't be distracted. So she forced herself to pull from the kiss, her breath jagged as Clint's hands seemed to be wrapped around her. "So do we have a deal?" he opened his mouth to speak when a ringing phone interrupted him. Katie reached behind her, pulling her phone from her pocket and looking down to the screen.

"Where did you get that?" Clint asked.

"Tony gave it to me" Katie replied quickly before bringing the phone to her ear. "Blair, hey is everything alright?" the nurse was just calling to inform Katie that Matthew was awake. Katie let out a sigh of relief. "Ok, I should be there soon." she hung up the phone and looked back up to Clint's clearly annoyed face. "That was Matthew's nurse calling to tell me that he was up" the expression still didn't change. "Ok, what's with the face."

"When did you see Tony?" Clint asked and Katie groaned loudly before pulling out of his grasp. She was well aware that Clint was a bit of a jealous man and the fact that she was friends with another man whom he didn't care for probably annoyed him to no ends.

"Last night when I went wandering the tower. I stopped in to see Matt for a little while and then I went to check out the lab. Bruce showed up and then Tony did. He gave me this because he figured I needed it, which I did." Katie rambled off not like this part of her relationship. She didn't like having to defend herself to him. "It wasn't a big deal."

"It is a big deal because that guy is too close to you" Clint replied with a shake of his head. "And I don't like it."

"Tony's my friend Bart, you knew that. Hell that's what SHEILD was hoping for when they found out he found me." Katie said. "Tony is also the only person in my life who didn't turn his back on me when everyone else just thought I was being paranoid." Katie walked back over to him and placed a kiss to his cheek. "Tony's in my life and so are you. You have to come to terms with that at some point."

"At least for as long as we're here" Clint said and Katie brought her eyes to his. "Which if I remember correctly shouldn't be long after Matt back up and running."

"You're ready to go, already?" she asked. She knew he didn't want to come here to begin with, but figured that once they actually got here, he'd change his mind. "Where are you so in a hurry to go."

"Somewhere far away from everyone. Somewhere I can't have you all to myself and somewhere I know you're safe" Clint replied leaning his forehead to rest against hers. "I don't want to lose you again."

"You won't" she replied before bring her lips to his. "I'm your girl and you're my guy." he smiled before watching her turn and walk away. "And you're coming to see Matt, because you two need to get along as well."

"I can't wait until this day is over" Clint muttered with a shake of his head before following after her.

Bruce woke up that morning like he did every morning, walking to the kitchen for a cup of tea. This morning however was different because there was someone waiting for him in his kitchen.

"Tony?" Bruce said not expecting to see him. "What-" he looked around to see if there were anymore surprise visitors before turning back to the man. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I need to talk and you're the only person I can talk to" Tony said.

"And you couldn't call or have JARVIS tell me about this before you broke into my apartment?

"I didn't break in, I just didn't want to wake you to let me in when I could do it myself. Is that a crime?"

"Actually it is" Bruce replied before turning and grabbing his tea put. He had the feeling he was going to need it. "What is this about?"

"I told her" Tony said and Bruce looked over his shoulder for more clarification. "Katie, I told her about the wedding."

"And?"

"And she started acting weird" Tony replied.

"I'm going to need more than that" Bruce said turning to him. "She kind of is weird, you're weird. All of us are weird. It's how we've come to be in each other's lives."

"I don't know how to explain it, but I think-" Tony brought his eyes to Bruce. "I think she was acting weird because she has non friend like feelings for me" Bruce didn't say anything at first, just simply stared as if waiting for something else. "What are you thinking?"

"You don't want to know what I'm thinking" Bruce said before grabbing the pot and going over to the sink and filling it with water. "Go home Tony, prepare for this obnoxious party and just leave me out of whatever the hell this is."

"Hey, you're my friend and I'm freaking out about this" Tony says standing to his feet and walking over to lean on the counter beside Bruce. "I mean what am I supposed to do. Do I talk to her about it, I mean I think I should."

"Tony, you do nothing about anything" Bruce said before turning and walking back over to the stove. "You're supposed to do nothing but get married and not worry about if your friend was acting weird because she likes you."

"That's your advice, just ignore what I saw last night?"

"That's exactly what you should do because in the end all you have is what you think you saw or what you wanted to see and either way that is a 'you' problem." Bruce sat the pot on the stove and turned to Tony. "So forget what you think you saw and go on with your life, because Tony if you dwell on this I promise you're going to ruin your life." Tony turned away in thought and after a few moments turned back.

"You're right, I should just let this go" Tony said with a nod before abruptly walking out the door.

"I can't wait until this day is over" Bruce muttered before turning to check on his tea.

Katie and Clint walked down the short hallway to Matthew, but stopped right in the door when the realized that he wasn't alone.

"I didn't know you had a visitor" Katie spoke and both Matthew and Pepper turned to them. Katie looked over the woman whose hair was slightly shorter than she remembered. Something else Katie seemed to noticed was how she was glowing. She was happy and it was obvious. "We can come back later."

"No, I was just leaving" Pepper said standing to her feet. "I have a lot to do before this party tonight, but thought I would come see Matt before I did." she gave the man a hug before walking over to Clint and Katie. "It's really good to see you."

"You too" Katie replied with a smile. "And congratulations. Tony told me about the wedding and I'm so happy for you guys."

"Thank you." Pepper said. "I know he'd been dying to tell you and now that he has he can finally ask you to-" Pepper stopped and bit her bottom lip. "I should probably let him tell you."

"Tell me what?" Katie asked.

"It's nothing bad I promise, but he would kill me if I took his moment" Pepper replied when her phone buzzed. She looked down and shook her head. "No, no, no" she looked back to Katie and smiled. "I have to kill someone now. Bye" and with that the woman was rushing out of the room. "So have you stopped being such a girl today?" Matthew asked and Katie tuned a glare to him.

"I didn't mean to over step my bounds and for that I'm sorry" Katie said. "I was worried about you for days and I guess I may have been holding on too tight. I know I'm not your mother-" "Kat-" Matthew started but she held up a hand to stop him.

"I get you're an adult and can make your own decisions and I promise to actually let you do that in the future." Katie said before releasing a long sigh. " I hope you can find it within yourself to forgive me." Matthew looked at her long and hard before speaking.

"What the hell was that?" he asked and Katie cracked a smile. "Did you just apologize?"

"I think that's what I did" Katie said before walking over to him. "So how are you feeling today?"

"Great, and Nurse B thinks I might be able to go to the party tonight" Matthew said and Katie could tell that he was happy about it. "I'm going stir crazy in this room" Katie looked around the spacious room and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah these conditions are just horrible" she muttered.

"So you going?"

"Tony sort of guilted me into it, so yes me and Bart will see you there" Katie said looking over to Clint who still stood by the door looking very uncomfortable. "Do you want to sit?"

"I'm good here" he muttered glancing around the room. Katie looked over to Matthew who shook his head before turning back to her.

"You know what, I have to find something to wear to this thing, so I should go." she looked back over to Clint. "Why don't you stay here so you two can get to know each other"

"Wait, what, uh no" Matthew protested.

"Kat, I don't think that's a good idea" Clint added looking over to her brother.

"Well like it or not, I love you two more than anything in this world so it would mean everything to me if you would just get along." Katie looked between the two men. "Guys really just for me, do this. I know both of you and know you two have a lot in common, so break down each others walls and get to know each other." the looked over to her with confusion written all over their faces. "I watched a lot of Dr. Phil while I was gone, but that's not the point." she tossed her bag over her shoulder and moved toward the door. "Talk and then talk some more." and with that she left them alone. Clint looked over his shoulder to see her stepping onto the elevator before turning back to Matthew who simply folded his arms over his chest in annoyance.

"Look I don't want to be here as much as you don't want me to be here" Clint says. "But I'm here to make her happy, so how about you at least give me a chance." Matthew shook his head turning away from the man. "Why the hell don't you like me, I mean I'm a very likable person" Matthew turned a glare to him.

"The first time I saw my sister in years was because the people she worked for were hunting her down and instead of running to safety, she stopped and waited for you. And you know what you did? You didn't show up." Matthew sat up from the bed, finding his need to hit the man in front of him growing more and more with each passing minute. "So right there, first impression just fucked. And then she let herself be caught just so she could see you, to I don't know save you and you know what you did then?"

"Look, Matt-"

"It's Matthew to you and I'm not finished. She went there to save you, which you clearly needed since for some reason you believed that the people you worked for weren't the bad guys."

"There was no need for me to believe they were!"

"She believed they were and that should've been your reason!" Matthew snapped. "Was she crazy, delusional, or paranoid, it didn't matter, because if you loved her you would've made sure"

"What do you think I did?" Clint asked stalking to the side of the man's bed. "I let her go to embed myself at SHIELD to find out the truth."

"Oh, please" Matthew huffed in annoyance. "You stayed behind because you made a decision. You chose SHIELD over her and concocted this story about finding the truth from the inside to justify it. In the end you made a choice and because of that choice my sister ran again, thinking the man she loved didn't love her the way she thought."

"You don't know what you're talking about" Clint muttered before turning and walking toward the door.

"Or maybe I'm making all the sense in the world!" Matthew called after him and Clint stopped just short of the door. "You made a choice and how much do you want to bet that even after everything that has happened, you'd make it again." Clint turned back, a slight look of anger crossing his face. "You can pout all you want, agent dick, but I bet that if you get a call right now from Fury and he says he's getting the band back together and he needs you back, what would you say?" Matthew asked and as expected Clint was silent. The archer turned away in thought. He didn't want him to be right, but the answer to that question did just that. The silence was answer enough for Matthew. "That's why I don't like you Mr. likable. That's also the reason that when I get out of this bed I'm going to make sure my sister sees it to." Clint turned back to Matthew. "You're going to hurt her again, you know it. And this time its going to hurt like hell because of all the hope for a brighter future you're feeding her. You know that call is coming at some point and you already know what your answer's going to be. Just let her go before it gets too far, because I promise that if my sister gets so heartbroken that she feels she has to disappear again, then I promise, secret assassin agent or not, I'm going to hurt you." Clint didn't say anything to that. There was nothing to say and for that reason Clint simply turned and walked away.

Matthew sat in his bed slightly guilty over what he just done. But there was another part of him glad he finally said it. His sister deserved better than some guy whose done nothing but hurt her. He looked back up to his door to see the familiar face of Nurse Blair looking to him with very judgmental eyes.

"What?"

"I heard what you said to him and if your sister finds out she's going to kill you" the nurse said before turning and walking away. "And I'm not going to stop her!"

Katie hated shopping and that she blamed on her father. When she was younger he usually ridiculed things he deemed childish. He always made sure she knew that her survival was more important than material things. So as she walked through the stores, looking at dress after dress, she found herself not particularly fond of anything. They were all overpriced, often ugly frocks that she wouldn't be caught dead in.

Her last hope was a second hand store she used to go to when she live here. Katie walked down the aisle, sifting through the racks for something worthy enough to be worn at a Stark party. She was so focused on searching that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone grab her hand. Katie turned quickly ready to attack, but pulled back when she saw it was only a small child no older that ten or eleven.

"Can I help you?" she asked and the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper before handing it to her. Not sure what else to do she took the paper before the boy turned and high tailed it out of there. "Wait!" she called running after him out of the store, but he was gone. A drop of water hit the crown of her head causing her to lift her eyes to sky as it began raining. Katie quickly dipped back into the store before opening the paper the boy had given her. It was an address and time, with the message, "_You still have what we want" _It didn't make sense, and for a moment she thought the boy had gave it to the wrong person, but then her mind goes back to the voice mail from Bucky.

"_He wanted you there because he needed something from you. Something he thought you knew. I never found out what, but I heard him talk about it a couple of times when he thought I wasn't listening. I think there was someone else though. Someone who was feeding him this information." _

She wanted to believe that Bucky was wrong, that there wasn't any more trouble headed her way, but then a boy in a store handed her a slip of paper. She looked back down to the message trying to think up how to handle this situation. A part of her wanted to just ball up the paper and toss it aside, while the other part of her knew that if she didn't go, she'd always be wondering what if. She'd knew she'd always be looking over her shoulder and that's the one thing she didn't want. And now she found herself in a dilemma.

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**A/N: And so we have a mystery...next chapter helps unfold said mystery and you won't believe the next big reveal.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Part two...sign...sealed...delivered and yours. **

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

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That night Tony stared at himself in the full body mirror, his tailored black tuxedo fitting him in all the right places. Now Tony wasn't a vain man, but...wait, yes he is.

"It should literally be a crime to look this good" he said with a sly smile while straightening his tie. He froze the moment he caught sight of Pepper in the mirror as well, and he forgot to breathe. Tony whipped around to see his fiance wearing a long, red silk gown that had a slit that ran just below her thigh. "Whoa." was the only word he could verbalize at the moment.

"So what do you think?" Pepper asked spinning around to give him a good look at the dress.

"I think we should skip the party and stay in" Tony said walking over to her admiring how good the dress looked on her and imagining that she would look even better with it on the floor.

"Well if it wasn't a party in our honor I would consider it" Pepper replied before reaching up and straightening his tie a bit. "So did you ask Katie, yet?"

"No. I haven't seen her today" Tony says turning away slightly. Pepper noticed the slight worry in his eyes and didn't understand it. It had slightly worried her the moment Tony told her that Katie and the others were coming to the tower. She felt silly at the twinge of jealously that erupted inside of her. It was their relationship that she thought she understood. That she thought she was alright with, but every time he said her name, it seemed different and Pepper just didn't understand. She simply shook her head before placing her hands on either side of his face and bringing his eyes to hers.

"I'm sure she's fine. This is our engagement party. A party celebrating the fact that very soon I'm going to be Mrs. Tony Stark." Tony smiled bringing his hands to her hips and pulling her into a kiss. "We should go before we miss our own party." Tony grumbled under his breath, but nodded and went anyway.

They saw Bruce waiting at the entrance looking very dashing in his tailored suit as well. Though it was obvious how uncomfortable the man was, simply by the way he was standing.

"Brucey, you handsome devil you" Tony jokes as they walk over to him. "If you're not careful you might just get laid tonight." Bruce chose to ignore Tony and turn to Pepper instead.

"Pepper, you look beautiful" Bruce said and Pepper smiled widely.

"Thank you Bruce. Tony's right, you do look handsome" Pepper replied.

"Where are the others?" Tony asked letting his eyes scan around the lobby for any more familiar faces.

"Well I stopped by Katie's place to let them know that the car was here and Barton opened the door and he didn't look dressed for a party." Bruce said with a shake of his head.

"Where's my kitten?" Tony asked missing Pepper roll her eyes. She still didn't like the nickname, but decided to keep it to herself.

"She wasn't there and I was going to ask him, but he didn't look too talkative."

"I'm sure everything's fine" Pepper says placing a hand on Tony's arm. "We're going to be late if we don't leave now" Tony looked over to her before looking to Bruce who simply shrugged. Tony suddenly thought back to the cryptic voice mail and the fact that he hadn't seen Katie all day. "Tony-"

"She has her phone, let me just call her" Tony said reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out his cell phone. Bruce looked over to Pepper whose expression show everything she was feeling in that moment and none of it was good.

"Pepper-"

"Don't" Pepper says holding up a hand to stop whatever excuse Bruce was about to say. They both just turned to Tony who stood with his phone to his ear. He was silent for a moment, but then started talking. After only a moment he turned back to them. "So?"

"She's-"

"Here I am!" Katie said running inside completely drenching wet with bags in her hand. "Sorry I'm late, but I got caught in the rain and I forgot how hard it is to catch a taxi in this city." she looked around to see everyone looking very snazzy. "You guys look handsome." she looked over to Pepper. "And you look hot" Pepper laughed with a shake of her head.

"Why thank you Katie" Pepper replied before looking over to Tony. "Tony we have to leave now."

"Right" Tony says before turning to Katie. "Let me just meet you at the car" Pepper's eyes widened, a flash of anger crossing her face. "I promise one minute, I just need to talk to Katie here." Pepper simply shook her head before turning and storming out of the building.

"You're starting this off real smooth" Bruce said before leaving as well.

"Tony whatever it is, it can wait. Go before your future wife kills you and then me" Katie says before walking over to the elevator.

"I will but I have something for you" Tony says reaching into his pocket. Katie looked over to see him pull out a charm bracelet.

"Tony, what-" she looked up to his eyes to see if he was seriously giving her this. "What is this, I can't accept this."

"Yes you can and you promised" Tony replied and Katie didn't quite sure know what he was talking about. Tony simply held up a piece of the bracelet pressing a small button and that's when Katie saw a blinking red light. "It's your tracking device." he clasp the trinket around her wrist. "Now I will know where you are at all times."

"That's very disturbing to know" Katie said but looked back up to him and smiled. "But it's pretty, so thank you. Now go before Pepper comes in here and pulls you out of here by your neck." Tony just nodded before turning and running out the door. Katie looked back down to the bracelet and shook her head before turning and stepping onto the elevator.

She walked quickly down the hall until she reached her door. With her free hand, she typed in the unlock code before running inside.

"Bart, I'm sorry I'm late, just let me change and we can-" she stopped when she laid eyes on Clint who was wearing the same thing he was wearing earlier. "I don't think this party is a t-shirt and jeans kind of thing" she looked around the apartment to see a couple of empty bottle of beer littered around. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going to the party" Clint said and Katie turned to him, dropping her bags to the floor.

"Ok, that's fine. We'll stay in" Katie said not missing the look in his eyes. "You want to watch a movie, grab some dinner."

"Kat-"

"We could skip it all and head straight to the bedroom"

"Kat, will you just listen!" Clint snapped and it caused Katie to jump slightly. The room fell silent and they both stood there looking at one another. Katie took a step toward him, but was confused when he took a step back. And that when she saw it. The look on his face, she'd seen it before. It was guilt. "I've been thinking."

"That's always a bad thing" she murmured expecting at least a crack of a smile as she tried to break the tension in the room at the moment, but Clint's serious expression seemed to be permanently etched into his features. "You're freaking me out right now, so how about you just say it."

"I made a call today." Clint said and Katie inhaled deeply, wishing for nothing more than for him to just let it out. "I called Nat and told her to set me up with a post. I think it would be best for everyone if -"

"What the hell happened since I've been gone" Katie interrupted. "The last time I saw you, we were good, the last time I saw you, you were smiling. What the hell-" And that's when she thought about the truly last time she saw him and the person he was with. "Matthew"

"Kat-"

"What did he say?"

"It doesn't matter, because it made me think. About me and about you and about why we've never been able to hold onto this long" Clint said dropping his head. For some reason he was unable to keep looking her in the eyes.

"Clint, what are you talking about. You said it yourself, this time it will be better because the obstacles are gone. SHIELD is gone. It's just you and me."

"Yeah, but for how long?" Clint asked and Katie quirked an eye brow in confusion. "You know as well as I do that Fury was dedicated to that agency and now that he has the chance he is going to rebuild and make it better."

"What does that have to do with us? If Fury wants to go build SHIELD 2.0 then that's his business, but it doesn't have to change anything with us." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Especially now, when nothing has happened. You're making decisions based on things that might possibly happen." he still kept his eyes turned away from her and it was angering her. "Look at me damnit!" she stormed over to him and placed her hands on either side of his face and brought his eyes to hers. "Do not throw this away because of fear" only more silent stares ensued and for a moment Katie thought that it didn't register. She was about to pull away when Clint's arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a kiss. so searing...so passionate, that neither wanted to part. And they wouldn't have, if the need for air wasn't so great. They pulled apart, their breaths mingling together and ragged.

"I'm sorry, I'm-"

"Don't" Katie said bringing her lips to Clint's once again. "I'm going to do both of us a favor and we are going to pretend this conversation never happened. Call Natasha, tell her that you went temporarily insane when you called her."

"I can't" Clint said and Katie frowned taking a step back. "She's coming here to New York and I think this is something I should do in person." Katie didn't quite understood, but simply nodded.

"You're coming back" it was a declaration, not a question.

"I'm coming back" he assured before pressing a kiss to her forehead before moving around her to grab his jacket. He gave her one last glance before flashing a smile and turning to leave. Katie stood there, releasing a deep breath she wasn't even aware she was holding. Her eyes fell to her bags on the floor and she remembered that there was still a party she had to make an appearance.

Tony stood in the middle of the grand hall staring out to a bunch people he barely knew, who were eating and drinking at his expense. He looked over to Pepper who was laughing at something someone had said, a crowd of people around her and Tony just knew that all of this was worth it. He glanced over to the door like he had been doing routinely throughout the night.

"You should stop doing that" Bruce muttered coming up beside him. "You're not being as covert as you think."

"She should've been here by now" Tony said grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. "Something's wrong"

"You don't know that" Bruce said looking around the crowd of people. "You know for a Stark party, this is actually tamer than I assumed it would be."

"Pepper made me promise no craziness and since I don't want to die, I complied" Tony replied before taking a brief sip from his glass before glancing over to the door as well.

"So what are we looking at?" a new voice spoke and both men turned to see Matthew, all dressed up in his suit, in his wheelchair.

"You mean Blair actually let you go?" Bruce asked with a shake of his head. "She's usually a little more strict with patients."

"Well you know I'm the master at getting what I want" Matthew replied cocky.

"Wait, is that Nurse Blair?" Tony asked looking across the room to see the woman. Bruce and Matthew turned their head to see the woman as well her eyes directly on Matthew.

"I don't see anyone" Matthew lied before looking back up to them. "So where's my sister and agent ass hole?" Both men look down to the young man. "Am I the only one calling him that?"

"I think so" Bruce replied with a shake of his head. "And they're not here yet"

"Didn't you say you saw Clint earlier and that he didn't seem talkative?" Tony asked and Bruce nodded. "Well what was wrong with him?"

"I don't know, he looked like someone kicked his dog." Bruce replied. "He kept his answers short and looked like he was moments away from slamming the door in my face."Matthew muttered something and they looked over to him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, just that hopefully super agent dick knows when to take a hint" Matthew replied and this caught their attention.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked when suddenly the music stopped and he heard a couple of gasps. He followed everyone's eyes to the top of the stairs the overlook the hall. There stood Katie in a simply powder blue dress that stopped just below her knees. It was simple, yet elegant. She scanned the crowd before quickly walking down the stairs over to where Tony, Bruce and Matthew were. Soon the music began again, but she could feel the eyes on her and hear the silent murmurs as she passed.

"I guess people still remember that I died" Katie said walking over to them. "Sorry I'm late, but mayhem ensued. Which reminds me." She walked over to Matthew and punched him hard in the shoulder.

"Ow!" he yelped, eyes going to him. "What the hell you do that for?"

"You know what that was for, and we will definitely be talking about it later" Katie said before turning to Tony and Bruce who were looking between the two trying to figure out what was happening. "Sorry, that just couldn't wait." she glanced around the crowd to still see a few eyes on her until she spotted Pepper who didn't look all to happy either. "Look, I know I just got here, but I think I should go."

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked grabbing another glass of champagne from a passing waiter and shoved it into her hand. "Stop talking crazy. Now that you're here maybe the fun can start. These two are too lame to party with."

"Hey, I'm handicapped" Matthew said slapping the wheels of his chair, defending himself. "Couple of more weeks, and I'll show you how to party Stark. Trust you me."

"You're a dill hole" Katie said with a shake of her head before looking to Tony. "Tony, I'm getting way too much attention which is not something I should be doing at someone else's engagement party" she looked over to Pepper who seemed to be glancing her way ever so often. "This was definitely not a good idea" she looked back to Tony and quickly pulled him into a hug. "Congratulations Iron ass, and I wish you guys the best." she placed a kiss on his cheek before pulling away, but not getting far. She looked down to see his hands on her arms. "Tony, what are you doing. I should go."

"We need to talk first" Tony said before grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. Katie looked around to see the eyes on them as they sped through the crowd. They ended up outside on a terrace where Tony closed the doors before turning to him.

"What hell are you doing?"

"Ok, so we're friends right?" Tony asked and Katie tilted her head in confusion. "That's a dumb question, of course we're friends. Like best friends. We get each other in ways no one else does."

"Are you drunk?"

"No, not yet, but I wish I was" he said before letting out a long sigh."This would be easier."

"What would be easier?"

"Well I wanted to ask you something. Something that you don't have to say yes to, but it would mean a lot if you did" Tony said and Katie waited for him to continue. Suddenly Tony remembered that moment they were in the lab and he told her about the wedding and how something changed. And so he found that he would ask a different question. "What do you think about this whole wedding business?" she looked confused and simply shrugged.

"I think it's great. You guys love each other and it makes sense." she said and he looked at her knowing that there was something else. "What, that's the truth?" he continued staring and she knew that the man in front of her was one of the few who saw past the facade she put up. Katie let out a sigh before turning away. "Fine, it scares me."

"What?"

"You're getting married to a woman who isn't very fond of me" Katie said turning back to her friend "I know how selfish this sounds, and I know given everything that's happened I'm not one to talk, but trust me, you're about to embark on this whole new life and I just don't see how I'm going to fit into it." she shook her head. "You may be an ass but I've come quite accustomed to our friendship and I guess I don't want to lose it."

"Have you been drinking?" Tony asked and Katie smiled. "You're my kitten for as long as we're alive and nothing will change that." he shook his head and Katie noticed what looked like relief wash over his face. It would seem that was an answer he didn't expect.

"Wait, what did you think I was going to say?" Tony looked over to her and simply shook his head. "What?"

"Nothing, I-" Tony stammered before a buzzing sound saved him from having to lie. Katie reached into her bag and pulled out her phone to see she had a text. It was the same message that she'd received from the kid earlier with the time and address. She wanted to ignore it, but it would seem that they didn't plan on letting her do that. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Katie replied tossing her phone back into her bag and looking back up to him with a smile. "It's-It's Bart, he was just wondering where I was, so I should get going." she looked into the hall at the large clock on the wall that showed that the meeting time was soon approaching. "I really have to go"

"Well there's something else I wanted to ask you" Tony said and Katie turned back to him.

"Can it wait?" she asked and he actually looked offended. She figured Tony was a person who was used to getting the attention he wanted. "I'm sorry, but I promised Clint I would come straight back. We can talk tomorrow." she quickly pecked a kiss on his cheek before rushing out without giving him a chance to protest. Tony looked both confuse and slightly suspicious as he walked back out to the party.

"Where's she off to in such a hurry?" Matthew asked rolling over to him.

"Back to the tower" Tony replied with a slight shake of his head. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"Tony, there you are" Pepper said coming over and grabbing his arm. "My cousins just got here and I want you to meet them."

"Lead the way mistress" Tony said letting pull him. He was probably being paranoid and so he decided to just let his suspicions go.

Katie sat in the back of a taxi, her fingers twitching nervously in her lap. Her head was screaming that this was stupid, that going off to meet people could potentially try to hurt her could end badly. But she couldn't stop hearing her father's voice in the back of her head telling her that running from the truth doesn't make it go away. Whoever these people were, they were persistent and hopefully she could nip this in the bud before the people she cared about got involved. The taxi stopped out side of a very shady looking laundromat, a blinking open sign in the window. She dug in her purse and handed the driver a couple of bills before stepping out. She stood across the street and stared at the building before taking out her cell phone and pressing a familiar number.

"JARVIS, I need you to do something for me."

"_Yes" _

"If I don't call you in the next hour, I want you to contact Tony and tell him that I am in danger."

"_As you wish. Would it be more beneficial for me to contact Mr. Stark now?" _

"No, right now I want to at least try to end this on my own. If I don't call, call him right away."

"_Yes Katie" _

Katie hung up the phone and dropped into her purse before stepping onto the sidewalk, and as if to mirror her anxiety, suddenly lightening flashed above her. She looked up to the sky.

"Well if you know something I don't, now would be the time to say it buddy" Katie said standing there for a moment before continuing. She stepped inside to find the place practically empty. A pungent smell passed her nostrils, causing her to pinch her nose for relief. There was a woman sitting in the corner reading a magazine, while another older man sat asleep. At this point Katie didn't know what to do, and so she waited. After only a few moments, a door opened and out walked a tall man dressing in a gray suit who didn't look like someone who would hang around some hole in the wall laundromat. He moved aside and Katie took that as her hint to go through the door. This was definitely stupid and so Katie did what she didn't think she would. She turned about to run. The moment she turned to the door she came face to face with another large man who was also wearing a suit. "This place must get out really tough stains" she looked between both men as they seemed to move in closer. She dropped her purse to the floor and clenched her fists, ready for whatever fight was about to take place.

"Stop!" a heavily German accented voice yelled and everything stopped. Katie looked around the large man to see a shorter man, this one younger with blonde hair that seemed to be combed back without a strand out of place. "There is no need for violence" the larger men seemed to back away as the younger man walked toward Katie. He bent down and picked up her purse and handed it to her. "May I say you look very beautiful this evening, Ms. Chambers" that was the first thing that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. Not a lot of people knew her real name and the fact that here was a stranger saying it as if they were friends. "There's nothing to fear here"

"I'm not scared" Katie said making sure to stand straight and look the man in the eyes. It was another one of her father's lessons. Never let intimidation get the best of her. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Straight to the point, just like your father" the man said lightly chuckling. Katie felt her insides tighten at the mention of her father, letting her know that this meeting had even more implications. "I didn't know him well, but the times I did see him I always thought he was a strong man. Someone who knew how to put fear in people." this wasn't something Katie wanted to hear.

"Again I ask you, who are you and what the hell do you want from me?"

"Your father took something that didn't belong to him and I want to know where it is" the man said and Katie looked at him ask if waiting for him to explain further. "And I think you know where it is."

"You do, do you? Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but my father rarely shared secrets." Katie replied. "I mean I lived with the guy for the first half of my life and I barely knew who he was."

"I think you're lying and I do not like liars" The man said with a shake of his head. The sadistic smile fell from his lips and replaced with a glare Katie was sure would've made a weaker man cave. "Please don't lie to me."

"What is it that you're looking for?"

"Well it's actually not a what, but a who?" the young man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wrinkled old picture. He held it up to Katie. The woman was very young with dark curly hair that she had pinned up on top of her head. Katie leaned in a bit closer to the picture to notice how eerily familiar the woman looked. "You have her eyes, you know?" she lifted her head to the man, the confusion probably written all over her face at this point.

"Who is she?"

"You don't recognize your own mother?" he asked and Katie's eyes widened. "What, you're going to tell me some lie about your mother being dead, about her dying during child birth" he took a step toward her. "I know your mother is alive, and I know your father knew and I don't think he would've died without telling you." he grabbed her face in his hand before reaching into his holster and pulling out a nine millimeter and pressing it to Katie's temple. "You talk or you die. Your choice."

There was a roar of thunder from outside that seemed to shake the entire building and the lights about flickered.

"I think there's a third option you didn't plan for" Katie ground out through clenched teeth.

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**A/N: I know a terrible place to end, but next chapter will be sure to please. Katie's mother may be a live and that will open up a whole heep of questions that Katie will want answered. Guess we'll see how she gets them. **

**Oh, and um...thunder that shook the entire building. We're going to see a familiar face and you won't even guess what he brings to the table. **

**Feed the author please...I thrive from your words.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm back and as always never empty handed.**

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Katie never really believed there was a such thing at information overload. She was one who tried to get as much information jammed to her head as possible. So as she stood there, the cold metal of the barrel of a gun resting on the side of her head, she realized in the past five minutes she'd learned more information then she thinks she can process. The words her mother was alive seemed to be on repeat in her head. If there was any instance of someone's head exploding, she had never heard of it, but she was pretty sure that was all about to change soon if she weren't removed from this situation. The lights above them flickered once again and everyone, her and evil German guys alike looked up a sudden chill passing through their bodies.

"Meister?" one of the henchmen spoke, looking to his boss. There was another sudden crash of thunder and the lights stopped flickering and turned off all together. There was a shriek from the corner and they all assumed it was the woman who'd been silently sitting in the corner the entire time. They heard the scuffling of feet before spotting just as the woman ran out in fear into the rain.

"You should probably do the same" Katie said. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and each breath seeming to be a chore.

"Why, you scared of a little thunder?"

"No, but you should be" Katie replied and as if on cue glass shatter and the man behind her yelped and they turned in the darkness to make out him flying across the room.

"Was that a hammer?" the other henchmen asked as the hammer that had just slammed the man in the chest, hovered above the ground and flew back through the window. They all moved to see, standing right there in the middle of the street Thor as he caught his hammer. He began walking toward the laundromat.

The young blonde dropped his gun to his side and grabbed a fist full of Katie's dress before pulling her flesh against his chest.

"Das ist noch nicht vorbei, süßes Kind" he hissed in her ear before pressing a sloppy kiss to her cheek and pushing her to the floor right on top of broken glass. Katie shrieked in pain as she felt the shards of glass scraping her legs. She lifted her head at the sound of a door slamming and look up to find herself alone. But not for very long. Heavy footsteps came closer and Katie turned to see the large god standing above her, water dripping from his long blonde locks.

"We have to-" she sputtered before placing a hand on her chest. Her labored breathing seemed to be getting worse and worse with every passing second. "Find-find them before-before they get aw-"

"It is alright, I will get you out of here" Thor said before scooping Katie into his arm.

"No, we- we have to-" she stopped because she could no longer feel the air on her lungs. Her body fell back in Thor's arms as he stepped outside. She could feel the rain drops crashing on her body, but for some reason it didn't matter. Nothing mattered at that moment. "Mom" was the last word she spoke before she let the darkness overtake her.

In the city of New York, it was only fact that each day it held an array of unique individuals at a given time. Two of those unique individuals just happened to be meeting in the middle of central park at the moment.

Clint stood with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, his hood pulled over his head, and his eyes down to block the rain. He soon heard the stern and purposeful footsteps of his comrade and smiled before turning to see her walking toward him, an umbrella held above her head.

"I think you should know that I'm fully prepared to kick your ass right now" she said bypassing a greeting. At this point in their relationship, it just wasn't even necessary anymore. "Again."

"Good to see you too Nat" Clint said with a slight smile.

"Oh, bite me" she quipped. "What the fuck are you doing? After everything you've done to get to this moment, with that insufferable woman, you call-"

"Nat stop!" Clint interrupted. "You're right. Which is why I came here to tell you that I wasn't coming back with you." she stood there for a moment before a look of realization washed over her face.

"You didn't need a face to face for that" Natasha said. Clint simply nodded. "This is going to be the last time I see you, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't say that" Clint spoke taking a few steps to close the distance between them. "Never in a million years would I say that Nat." He let out a deep breath. "What I would say is that life here is a little too crazy and the people are a little too close. For this to work I think we have to go."

"Has she agreed to this?" Natasha asked and Clint dropped his head. "Have you talked to her about this?"

"She knows I want to leave New York" Clint said bringing his eyes back to his friend. "She agreed. So at this point it's all a matter of when."

"Or if-"

"No, I don't think it is" Clint said with a shake of his head. "I think she feels it too. The need to get away from this bullshit." Natasha stood there, not sure what to say next. "This isn't goodbye, it's just see you later. Would you hit me if I hugged you, right now?"

"Yes" she answered honestly and Clint simply chuckled.

"Well I don't care" he replied before bringing his arms around her in a hug. And in true Natasha fashion, she smacked him right in the back of the head.

"I still owe you" she said and he pulled from the hug to see the seriousness in her face. "That doesn't change, and I plan to wipe that red out of my ledger." Clint simply nodded before a buzzing sound interrupted the moment. Natasha reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone before bringing it to her ear. "Yeah" she frowned slightly as she looked up to Clint. "When?" there was another beat of silence. "I'll take care of it." she ended the call and slipped the phone back into her pocket.

"What's wrong?"

"There's been a Thor sighting" Natasha replied.

"That's not hard to believe. He and Dr. Foster-"

"No, he's in New York, and he was spotted just a few minutes ago" Natasha said with a shake of her head. "Dr. Foster is still in England."

"Then what is he doing here?" Clint asked and Natasha simply shrugged before turning and stalking off. Not sure what else to do, Clint followed after her. Natasha gave him a sideways glance. "I'm not gone yet, and right now I'm curious."

Tony stood at the bar in the hall waiting for the bartender to bring his drink. He'd been putting on a faux look of bliss and happiness the entire night. Even though he truly was happy with his impending nuptials, a part of him was upset that he wasn't able to share it with his friend. There had been a year and a half of not seeing Katie, or not talking to her and right now they were in the same city and it was as if nothing had truly changed.

Tony was snapped out of his thoughts by someone rolling over his foot. Well he shouldn't say someone. There was only wheelchair bound guest at his party tonight and he was proud to call him

"You'd think you would've mastered this thing already" Tony says looking down to the man. Tony reached down and ran a hand across one of the wheels. "You know I could supe this up for you." he smiled as ideas began running through his head. "Yeah, I can see it now-"

"Well stop seeing it" Matthew interrupted. "So Katie didn't say anything else before she left?"

"No, just that she was headed back to the tower to meet Barton" Tony said before turning to see the bartender with his drink.

"I called and she didn't answer." Matthew replied.

"Well maybe she's busy or getting-" Tony stopped realizing the rest of this sentence wasn't as funny anymore. "Never mind."

"Yeah, but when I call, she answers" Matthew said and Tony looked down the young man.

"What like since she's been back?"

"No, like any time I call" Matthew countered. "I think something's wrong, you think you could set me up with a ride back to the tower." Tony opened his mouth to speak when he felt his breast pocket vibrating.

"One sec" Tony said snagging his phone from his pocket. "It's JARVIS." he brought the phone to his ear. "JARVIS, what's up?"

"Sorry to disturb you sir, but I was instructed to call you at this exact time given the event that Katie does not contact me" JARVIS stand and Tony looked over to Matthew with a look of confusion.

"Why was she going to call you?"

"She didn't say why, but in the event that she didn't. I was to contact you and tell you that she may be in danger."

"Fuck!" Tony growled. "JARVIS, I want you to locate Katie's tracking device and send the location to my phone."

"Right away sir" JARVIS said.

"What's wrong?" Matthew asked once Tony brought the phone from his ear.

"I think you're right" Tony said before searching the crowd for Pepper. She wasn't going to be happy about his premature departure, but right now there were more important things to tend to. Like whatever debacle his kitten had gotten herself into.

Clint and Natasha ran through the rain, only stopping when they found a crowd of people standing in the middle of time square staring up into the sky. They looked up as well just in time to see Thor fly through the sky.

"I think he's headed toward the tower!" Clint called. Natasha simply nodded before they were off running again.

Thor's feet slammed against the concrete with a ground shaking thud in front of the tower. He looked down to Katie who seemed to be flickering between consciousness and unconsciousness. The next moments happened so fast that no one present could possibly recount it. Thor burst through the front doors of the tower startling the guards and a couple of late night employees who just happened to be around.

"Some one will help her now!" Thor's voice boomed, reverberating off the walls and causing a chill to creep down everyone's back. Everyone stood frozen in fear, well everyone but a guard who recognized the seriousness in the gods face and knew no one would like it if he asked twice. The guard picked up the phone and called up to the medical unit for assistance.

_If someone would only stop that damn beeping._

That was the first coherent though that passed through Katie's head as she began to come to. She heard the sound of muffled voices, and attempted to open her eyes, but the light in the room was too bright for her comfort, so instead she chose to keep them closed.

"Will you two calm down!" Bruce loudly whispered glancing over to Katie who stirred in the bed. He looked between Tony and Clint who both were angry beyond words at the moment. "Look when she wakes up we can get the full story, but until then there's no use to pointing the finger at anyone." Tony and Clint both glared daggers at one another before turning back to Katie.

"So what, it was just a panic attack?" Tony asked glancing over to Bruce.

"Seems like it. From what Thor told me, when he found her, she seemed to be going into shock. It didn't take too long for her just pass out"

"The cuts on her legs?" Clint asked trying his best to cap the swirling emotions that were happening inside of him.

"She was pushed onto glass" Bruce said walking over to see Katie's bandaged legs. "They're minor, probably won't scar too badly."

"What I want to know is who were they and where do I find them?" Tony asked looking around to the faces for answers. He turned to Clint. "You can't tell me you knew nothing about this!" In a swift movement, Clint moved to stand in front of Tony's face bringing the men mere inches apart. He'd been dying to take a swing at the man and at the moment there was a tingling in his fingers that was daring the man to just say one more word.

"That's enough!" Bruce said coming between them and pushing them apart. "Right now only one person knows the answers to your questions and right now she's not awake. So how about we all calm down."

"I'm not sure how long that's going to last" A new voice spoke and they all turned to see Natasha leaning on the door frame. "Not when you here what our extraterrestrial friend has to say." a nurse squeeze passed Natasha into the room.

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts is requesting to see you" the nurse informed and Tony let out a frustrated growled. He hadn't really given her an explanation before ditching their party and was sure she had questions of her own.

"Tell her that I can't-"

"Tony, no" Bruce interrupted and Tony simply glared over to him. "Right now all we're doing is waiting. If she wakes up, I'll call but right now go let your fiance know what's going on." Tony glanced over to Katie before turning and stalking out of the room. Bruce looked back to Natasha who seemed to be staring over to Katie as well, a heavy frown on her face. "You look upset?" Natasha glanced over to the doctor bringing her features back to their natural neutral state. "It's not an unexpected reaction, but from you it's...interesting." Natasha simply rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, look Thor has a hell of a story to tell once everything gets situated here, so plan for a team meeting." Natasha replied before turning and heading out the room.

"That sounds fun" Bruce muttered glancing over to Clint's whose eyes were glued to Katie. "She's going to be fine, you know?"

"I had no idea" Clint said with a slight shake of his head. "I've practically been attached to her at the hip and the moment something happens with her, I didn't even know it."

"Clint, no one knew. I think she wanted it that way" Bruce replied looking to Katie as well. "If Pepper's here, then Matt can't be far behind. I should go fill him in."

Once Bruce was gone, Clint let out a long sigh as he ran a hand across his face. That was the moment something caught his eyes. Her leg. It moved, but only slightly. He looked up to her face, her eyes still closed.

"You're awake, aren't you?" Clint asked walking to her side and pulling up a seat in the chair beside her bed. He grabbed her hand, hoping the contact would help her to wake up fully, but her eyes were still closed. "I know you're awake, because you're not snoring."

"Will you stop saying that. I do not snore" her voice replied dry and rough as her eyes lifted open. But barely as she tried to adjust to the light. She saw the worry in his eyes and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, you look it" Clint replied before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Do you have any idea how freaked out I was when I got that call."

"Actually I do" Katie replied remembering the call from a hospital telling her that Clint had been in an accident and it turned out it was because he went after one of Killian's goons.

"Then you know how scary it is" Clint said and Katie simply sighed.

"I wanted to end it. We just got out of a crap storm and I didn't want to bring you or anyone else into another one" Katie said turning her head to look up to the ceiling. "Guess that plan has gone straight to hell."

"You're damn straight." Clint countered and Katie brought her eyes back to his. "There are no solo missions anymore. We will deal with this together, now tell me what the hell is going on."

The doors slid open to Tony's penthouse and the first thing he saw was Pepper standing, still in her evening gown, her arms folded over her chest looking not even a ounce of happy.

"Pepper-"

"What the hell is going on Tony!" Pepper snapped before stalking over to meet him. "First you're barely even try to enjoy the party and then you get a call and you leave me there."

"Pepper, I'm sorry, but-"

"Is someone dead?"

"No, but-"

"Was someone close to being dead?"

"No, not really, but-"

"Did you in anyway help the situation?"

"Single handedly, no, but-"

"Is this about Katie?"

And with that question Tony stopped trying to talk. It would seem Pepper had already believed she understood the situation and didn't really need him to answer the questions she was asking.

"I think we should have a talk?" Pepper asked her voice calmer than before.

"Do we, because you seem to be doing a bang up job of talking by yourself without my input" Tony said gaining a very pointed glare from his fiance. "What do you want me to say? Yes, tonight Katie found herself in a very dangerous situation. To what extent, I didn't know, hell I still don't know, but as her friend-"

"Her friend" Pepper interrupted again.

"For the love of-" Tony snapped throwing his hands up in frustration. "Will you let me finish. I'm trying to tell you that whatever theory you have swirling around in your head right now is just pure paranoia."

"Paranoia, really?" Pepper asked. "So when my fiance is at a party for our engagement and the only time his eyes light up is when another woman finally arrives. Or on the drop of a hat, when you get word that she's possibly in trouble, you ditch me to go find out. And you call that paranoia?"

"No, actually you're right, it's not paranoia" Tony countered. "It's confusion. You think you understand what's happening, you think you know why things are happening, but you don't Pepper. I explicitly remember explaining it to you, why-" Tony shook his head. It was the conversation between he and Pepper after Katie's fake death where he explained why he cared for her the way he did. And after that conversation, he thought she understood, but apparently she didn't. "Pepper, what do you want?" Pepper stood there for a moment silently before finally speaking.

"I don't want her hand on our life to be as strong as it is" Pepper replied. Tony opened his mouth to argue, but she rose a hand to stop him. "You don't see it, because you're too close to her. But ever since she's come into our lives, it's been you, me, and your kitten. I don't want to share you, can you understand that." Tony dropped his head, realizing that maybe he may not have been completely fair to Pepper. "I don't doubt you love me and I don't think your feelings for her are romantic, but I don't think they're friendly either." Tony lifted his eyes to her. "I can't explain it, and yes I don't understand it and because of that, it scares me."

"Well don't be" Tony said walking over and bringing his arms around Pepper in an embrace. "Don't be."

Bruce stood watching as Nurse Blair tried restitching one of Matthew's sutures that was pulled in the man's attempt to get to his sister.

"I told you I'm fine!" Matthew snapped before looking up to Bruce. "What the hell happened to my sister?"

"We won't know until she wakes up?"

"Or until I wake her ass up" Matthew grumbled looking down to Blair as she bandaged the last wound. The moment she did, Matthew stood to his feet.

"Mr. Banks!" Blair called as the man stalked out of the room. Bruce just held up a hand to her, letting her know that he would look after him.

"You should calm down, Matt" Bruce said coming in stride with the man. "I get you're upset-"

"I thought the phase in our lives where people were trying to kill my sister was over." Matthew replied. "I want answers and I need to know how serious this is."

"And then what?" Bruce asked and Matthew gave the man a sideways glance. "What are you going to do?"

"What, you think because I'm not some mutated rage monster, billionaire, assassin, archer or god, that I can't do something?"

"That's not what I said, it's just at the moment-"

"You underestimate me doc" Matthew interrupted. "All of you do and I don't blame you, but I think you should know that I'm not nearly as incompetent as you think I am."

"No one thinks-" Bruce wasn't able to finish his sentence before Matthew was bursting through Katie's door. He followed inside of the room to see Katie's eyes open.

"What the hell were you thinking!" Matthew snapped standing in front of her bed.

"Matt, how about you calm down." Clint said standing to his feet. "I know-"

"You don't know anything Agent ass face!" Matthew said not taking his eyes from his sister. "I want to know what you were thinking when you decided to go to some unknown location to meet with people who could've killed you. Oh and on top of that, by yourself!"

"Mattie-"

"Don't Mattie me!" Matthew snapped. "You always do this, you make these choices you think is best for everyone. If something happened to you today, what do you think that would've done to me? Hell to all of us Rinny! You're not a child anymore, so before you act you're gonna have to start thinking beforehand, because for someone as smart as you,this was dumb as shit!"

"Ok, that's enough" Bruce said coming to pull Matthew from the room.

"No" Katie said trying to sit up from the bed. "He's right. What I did tonight was stupid and it wasn't thought out." she looked over their eyes. "I'm sorry for making you worry about me, because that was the exact opposite of what I wanted to happen tonight."

"What exactly did happen tonight?" Bruce asked and Katie let out a sigh.

"Maybe we should wait until the morning" Clint spoke seeing how uneasy Katie looked. "She's gone through a lot tonight, we should at least give her a little time." Bruce nodded before grabbing Matthew's arm.

"I'm sorry Mattie" Katie said only for Matthew to shake his head and turn and leave with Bruce.

"He'll be alright, he was just scared." Clint said grabbing her hand. "We all were Kat. And now-"

"Now there are people who want answers to questions I didn't even knew existed" Katie said turning to Clint. "Bart, if my mother really is alive, then everything I thought I knew-" she shook her head. "I can't take anymore life changing information."

"We will just take this one step at a time and whatever comes at us, we'll handle it" Clint replied taking her hand in his once again.

"I don't think I want to spend the night in this room" Katie said and Clint nodded.

"Right, I'll see if it's ok for me to take you back to the apartment."

Later that night, Katie found herself lying in bed once again staring up to the ceiling. She should be resting, trying her best to just put the events of the day behind her, at least for the moment, but it seemed impossible. Clint had gone, just downstairs to meet with the others, to talk about her most likely.

"This is ridiculous!" Katie groaned sitting up from her bed. She gently turned her body, trying her best not to hurt her scarred legs. She stood to her feet and walked glumly down the hall to the office. She took a seat in the wheeled chair behind her desk. "Monitors on!" she called and each of the many screens turned on. At the moment they were only playing various news outlets. Most were still reporting on the whole SHIELD/HYDRA exposure. Katie reached into the bottom drawer of the desk and pulled out the tiny flash that she told herself she would just forget. She twirled it in her fingers.

"JARVIS, how is that data mining coming along?" Katie asked.

"The search is still in progress" JARVIS informed. "It seems to be a large data set and the search is taking longer than anticipated."

"Well do whatever you have to do to speed it along. This is really important."

In building the tower, Tony made sure, that given it's name of "The Avenger's Tower" it would have a place for the Avengers to assemble. It was a large conference room with a table in the center surrounded my wall monitors. At the moment, the team chose to stand as they waited for Tony.

"Why are we waiting for him?" Clint asked wanting nothing more than to go back upstairs to be with Katie. He wasn't too sure about leaving her alone.

"Because it's my tower!" Tony called walking into the room. "And my tower, my rules. Now should we sit?" Everyone just gave him a look no one moving an inch. "Fine, then we stand." he looked over to Thor. "Hey, big guy. Good to see you again. Why am I seeing you again?"

"If this is about Katie, shouldn't she be here right now?" Clint asked looking between their faces. "It just seems kind of wrong to be having this meeting if it's about her and she's not even here."

"Clint's right, we shouldn't do this now" Bruce added with a sigh. "It's been a long night and right now we should probably just hit the pause button."

"Really, there are people out there trying to kill her and-"

"Tony, we don't know what happened, so chill." Bruce interrupted before turning to Thor. "Does what you have to say need to be said now or can it wait?" Thor looked hesitant but simply nodded.

"It can wait, but not for long. We need to have this discussion soon" Thor said. The others nodded before turning and leaving.

"Oh, I almost forgot" Tony said stopping and turning back to Thor. "Did you want to stay here or-"

"I must return to my Lady Jane, but I shall come back tomorrow" Thor replied and Tony simply nodded before leaving as well.

Katie sat in silence as she fiddled with the flash drive in her hands. A suddenly bell rang and Katie lifted her head.

"JARVIS, what is that?"

"The doorbell." JARVIS replied and Katie simply nodded before standing to her feet. She assumed it was Clint and he'd just forgotten the pin, but the moment she opened the door she found that her assumption was wrong.

"Pepper?" Katie asked definitely not expecting to see the had changed out of her gown and now wore a simply sweater with a pair of jeans. "Is something wrong?"

"Depends on who you ask" Pepper replied. "May I come in?" Katie nodded before stepping aside and letting her enter. "I'm sorry to just barge in on you like this, especially after everything that's happened tonight."

"It's fine" Katie said closing the door and turning to face the woman. "Tell you the truth I could use the distraction. So what's this is about?"

"I don't know how to even begin this conversation" Pepper said folding her arms over her chest before bringing her eyes to Katie. "And I know right now given what you've been through tonight, me coming over here and-"

"Pepper, really it's fine" Katie interrupted. "You need to say something to me, so say it."

"I-" Pepper had been going over this conversation in her head over and over again and now that she was right here, looking Katie in the face, the words seemed to be losing her. "I thought I understood the relationship between you and Tony, but everyday I realize I don't and when it comes to the man I'm about to give my life to, that can't happen." Katie saw the tearing welling up in the woman's eyes and just knew this wasn't an easy conversation for her. "And I know I'm probably being silly and paranoid and a bunch of other things, but I love Tony and what you two have scares me because I've never seen it before. Not with him." Pepper dropped her head and wiped a couple of stray tears from her cheek. "As the woman whose going to be his wife, I feel that I should have his whole heart and with you-" Pepper looked back up to Katie. "That will never happen. And so I need-"

"I'm going to leave" Katie interrupted and Pepper didn't say anything. "What you're feeling is valid and it's normal, but I think you should know that I've spent the majority of my life feeling alone and I'm pretty sure Tony has felt the same. And then one day I hacked a program and he broke into my life and we weren't alone anymore. When you realize you're not alone, things happen. You change. You ask the woman whose been standing right under your nose to marry you or you finally give the guy you've been in love with since the day you met him a chance to actually make you happy. You don't understand it Pepper because you haven't felt it and that's not your fault, it's not anybody's fault, but if this is the way you see your happily ever after, then I'm not going to stand it the way. So I'm going to leave, tomorrow most likely,and then I hope that you finally get what you want." Pepper stood there dumbfounded. There were no words she could even say at the moment and so she simply nodded and moved past the woman out of the door. "JARVIS, not to pressure you or nothing, but I need you to work a shit load faster buddy."

"I'm doing my best" JARVIS replied.

"I know" Katie sighed suddenly feeling dampness on her own cheek. She reached up and felt the tears she didn't even know were falling.

"Hey" Clint said walking through the door. "I just saw Pepper, she looked-" Katie turned to him and he saw her watered eyes and quickly walked over to her bringing his arms to her waist. "What's wrong, what happened?" Katie closed her eyes and just shook her head before reaching up and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"We're leaving tomorrow."

"Kat-"

"I don't want to talk about it" Katie said pulling from his grasp and walking away.

The next morning Katie found herself sitting alone at the head of a large conference table in the tower's conference room. Clint had told her that the others wanted answers and she decided that they deserved them. And so she was the first one there. Natasha was the next to arrive. The woman took a seat to the left of Katie,glancing over to her.

"Was there something you wanted to say that I haven't heard already?" Katie asked turning to the woman. Natasha simply pulled out her cell phone and pulled up an image before sliding it over to Katie. Katie looked down to see the distorted image of the young German man from the night before. Her eyes widened as she looked back to Natasha. "Who-"

"We don't know, he's not in any database we have access to" Natasha said taking the phone back. "That was taken from a nearby security camera as him and his friends made their speedy getaway."

"He mentioned my mother" Katie said looking down to her hands. Natasha turned away for a moment.

"The director wanted me to pass along a message" Natasha said and Katie lifted her head to her. "He said he gave you a weapon you could use in this situation and that maybe it was time you used it." Katie simply nodded.

"I'm going to need a plane at the ready today" Katie said. Natasha simply nodded before the others began to filter in.

Soon they were all sitting around the table listening to Katie recount the story of the message received from Bucky, to a boy who slipped her a note in a second hand store and then the text she'd received at the party before she ended up at the laundromat.

"I don't get it" Bruce said after Katie had finished. "What do they want?"

"My mother" Katie spoke and everyone was silent for a moment.

"I thought your mother was dead" Tony said and Katie met his eyes and simply shrugged.

"So did I" Katie replied before turning to look out one of the large windows that over look New York. "Look I don't know what the truth is here." she turned back to them. "What I do know is that this isn't a national security problem, and this isn't people from a different planet threatening me. This isn't a problem that needs to be solved by the Avengers and so I'm going to handle this one." she waited for an argument and all eyes went to the one person they thought for sure would give one. Tony cleared his throat before folding his hands underneath his chin.

"If that's what you want" he said surprising everyone. Katie nodded before looking to Thor.

"Alright, now on to the next business. Tell me there isn't going to be another alien invasion?" Katie asked and Thor shook his head, but his face was pure seriousness.

"I received a message from Asgard yesterday. A strange seer was passing through the land and told Lady Sif to pass along a message to me." Thor recalled before turning to Katie. "I was to be told that soon the heart would stop beating." They all sat there waiting for more, waiting for an explanation but it would seem that was the end of Thor's story.

"That's it?" Katie asked and Thor nodded.

"You must understand that the woman's words hold more meaning than she had spoken." Thor said looking to their faces before looking back to Katie. "Your heart is special Lady Katherine and though you may not see it, we all do. It's your heart that has saved many, if not all of us here today. And for a seer from another realm to predict such a feat creates implications that I think we should at least discuss."

"There is nothing to discuss" Katie said with a shake of her head. "Your seer didn't mention me by name, so the truth is that her prediction could mean anything. The truth is one day I am going to die and so is everyone at this table. Whether it's soon or a long time from now, no one knows." Katie stood to her feet. "Clint and I are leaving today. There's something we need to do and then when we're done, we're going to just take a break from it all, just the two of us." Tony stood to his feet and stalked out of the conference room.

"Lady Katherine, I think it would be wise-" Katie simply placed a hand on to of Thor's.

"Thor I've lived the majority of my life looking over my shoulder for death and I don't want to do it any longer." she looked to the faces of her friends. "After everything that I have been through, I deserve to have the life that I want, and this is what I want." She looked over to Clint and gave him a nod before he stood to his feet as well. "I have my phone and it's the same number so call me if you need me, or if you're just dying to hear my voice." they simply nodded before watching Katie and Clint leave the room as well.

Bruce, Natasha and Thor sat around the table letting the events of what just happen process.

"Thor" Bruce spoke and the Asgardian turned to him. "This seer and her prophecy of someone from a different realm dying, does that happen often?"

"No, our land is filled with people who have these abilities, but for a prediction to be of someone from a different realm is rare. It usually means that their death will have an affect far greater than expected. This could mean that Katherine's death could some how affect Asgard, I'm just not sure how."

"What does your father have to say?" Natasha asked and Thor shook his head.

"My father has been recluse since my mother's death. Not many see him anymore, not even I" Thor replied solemnly. "At this point I'm not sure how to proceed if Katherine herself does not wish to persist this further."

"Well don't you have a guy up there who sees all, so to speak?" Natasha asked and Thor simply nodded.

"You mean Heimdall, and I have already directed him to keep a watchful eye on her. That's how I came to finding her last night" Thor replied.

"Well at this point, that's all we can do" Natasha said standing to her feet. "The people from last night are being checked into and if we find out anything that's pertinent, it'll be passed along."

"But until then we just do nothing?" Bruce asked and Natasha simply nodded. "That sound very productive"

"Focus on your work doctor, because right now we have no clear threat and some would call that a good thing." Natasha said. "Until we have focus and direction, then there will be something for you to do." And with that Natasha left.

Before Katie left she knew that she'd have to stop by her brother's medical room, even though she knew he'd still be upset with her. After she told him of her plans to leave he folded his arms over his chest and turned his eyes from her refusing to say a word.

"Mattie, say something" Katie pleaded but he didn't say anything. "I wish you could understand why I have to do this, I really do." she walked around his bed and placed a kiss on top of his head. "I love you little brother and whenever you need me I will be there." still nothing and so she sighed before turning and walking for the door.

"I need you now"Matthew said and Katie stopped and turned to him. "Right now, I need you so just stay."

"No you don't." Katie said with a shake of her head. " You're going to be fine. Tony will look out for you and-"

"Tony's not my family, you are !" Matthew snapped and Katie turned away from him. "Stop running Kat. I've spent my whole life without a sister because you won't stop running."

"I'm not running Mattie." Katie said walking around and taking a seat on the edge of his bed. "And you've never been without me. You'd actually be freaked out about the tabs I've been keeping on you." she placed a hand on top of his. "Don't be mad or sad because I'm leaving because this isn't goodbye. I will see you again, probably at this wedding I'm sure I will be coerced into attending." Matthew met his sister's eyes and sighed. "You're my Mattie and I'm your Rinny and no matter where ever I am, that will never change."

"If I call you with a crisis, I expect expediency" Matthew said and Katie smiled.

"And you will get it, if it truly is a crisis and not you drunk on your ass at a gay bar" Katie said gaining a glare from her brother as she laughed.

"I could've sworn we put that the box of the 'never to be mentioned out loud' just like your week at band camp and that nickname" he began laughing as well. "What was it, Ms. Pee-Bottom?" Katie swat his shoulder and stood to her feet and Matthew only laughed even more.

"You know what I'm glad I'm leaving, because us in a room together for more than ten minutes will surely lead to you getting your ass kicked" Katie said before placing a kiss on top of his head. "Get better, listen to Blair and talk to someone."

"I don't need-"

"Yes you do" Katie replied. "I know you better than anyone and I know there's a lot of stuff going on in that head of your and talking about it will help."

"That's rich coming from you" Matthew said. "You're a walking time bomb of issues ready to blow the moment someone says the wrong thing. How about this, I talk to someone if you talk to someone, deal?" Katie looked at him for a moment and realized that getting her brother help was far more important than locking in her own crazy.

"Fine, deal" Katie said.

"Secret handshake?" Matthew asked holding out his fist. Katie simply shook her head before meeting his fist with her own before slapping their hands and sliding them back. Matthew then spat in the palm of his hand before holding it out to Katie who looked at him like he was crazy.

"I've told you a hundred times that we're not doing that" Katie said before turning and heading for the door.

"You better answer when I call!" Matthew called and Katie simply waved toward him. She walked into the hall where she found Clint waiting for her.

"Now do you want to tell me what brought all of this on?" Clint asked. "This isn't about what happened, because I'm good, we can stay."

"No this isn't about that" Katie replied. "This is something else, something I will tell you about later, but right now I have one more person I need to see before we leave." she walked around him to the elevator and Clint was right behind her. She turned to him and placed her hand on his chest. "I have to go alone-" he opened his mouth to protest but Katie placed a finger on his lips. "And you need to clear the air with my brother."

"I don't think-"

"It might not help or maybe it will, right now just give it one more try. For me?" Katie asked. Clint didn't want to, but he nodded. He placed a kiss on her cheek before watching her step onto the elevator. Clint turned and sighed before begrudgingly stalking toward Matthew's room. He stopped in the doorway seeing Matthew with his tablet in hand before he knocked. Matthew glanced up to the man and visibly deflated. Clint wasn't the person he wanted to see at the moment.

"Kat, just left" Matthew said before looking back down to his tablet.

"Uh, yeah. I know. I actually came to see you" Clint said walking into the room. Matthew didn't say anything or even spare him a glance. "I know the little that you know of me doesn't paint me in a good light." Matthew let out a snort, but didn't say anything to object. "When I met your sister, things were complicated, hell our whole lives were complicated and I-" Clint shook his head. "I didn't expect to feel-"

"Look, dude I really don't want to hear this" Matthew said breaking his attention from his tablet to look to Clint. "Whatever my sister sent you here to say, tell her you said it and just leave." Clint let out a annoyed sigh. He was definitely as stubborn as his sister.

"Fine, let me just say this and I'll leave you alone." Clint replied and Matthew just dropped his eyes to his tablet. "I know I've screwed up on more than one occasion when it comes to Kat, but this time will be different. Before I was questioning so much and right now I'm not. I love her and I'm not going to hurt her, not again." Matthew glanced back to the man. "I know you don't know much about me and you probably don't want to, but know that I am a man who keeps his word and I promise you that I will protect your sister until the day I die. That will be my new mission in life and I won't fail." Clint waited for a reply and he half expected some smart aleck remark, but it would seem Katie's little brother would surprise him.

"I'm going to hold you to that" Matthew replied. "And I know you're some trained killer and all, but if you hurt my sister you're going to see another side of me, you got it?"

"Got it?" Clint said with a nod before turning around with a sense of accomplishment.

Katie fiddled nervously with the zipper of her jacket as she waited for the elevator to arrive at it's destination. The moment the doors slid open Katie look up the lab to see Tony standing with a glass of brown liquid in one hand as he swiped through some holospecs with the other. He glanced up to her as she walked in before looking back down to the specs.

"I thought you'd be gone by now" he grumbled before taking a sip from his glass.

"I thought we should talk first" Katie said walking over to him. He continued to avoid her eyes and so she reached over and grabbed the glass from his hand.

"Give it back" he ordered angrily.

"No, one it's too early for the booze train and two, this doesn't solve anything" Katie said before handing the glass to dummy who took it away.

"There's nothing to solve" Tony said looking back down to the spec. "The puzzle that is you will never be solved and so I'm going to stop trying."

"What are you talking about?"

"I talking about this one hundred foot wall that you have up!" Tony snapped and Katie took a slight step back shocked by his anger. "This wall you keep up and you never let anyone in, well except for Barton. The ass who left you and then came back." she turned away and Tony simply shook his head. "I've been right here trying to help you and you give me nothing."

"I gave you this!" Katie said holding up her wrist and showing the bracelet. "Do you know what this is. This is blind, no holds bar trust and I gave it to you."

"Whatever" Tony grumbled turning his back to her.

"Don't whatever me" Katie said stalking over to place herself in front of him. "You're upset because I won't spill all my secrets, well tough shit. You don't know everything, because I can't let everything out. I can't-" she shook her head. "My wall keeps me safe and it's keeps me strong."

"What do you need to be safe from?"

"From-" she stopped because she could feel it happening. Walls she's tried so hard to keep up and memories she's kept buried for so long rearing their ugly head. "My life wasn't an easy one to live, but I've found a way to live it and it works for me. Tony out of all the people who know me, you know more of me than anyone and that includes Bart."

"Then tell me the truth right now, what is this all about?" Tony asked moving to stand in front of her. "Why are you leaving?" she simply smiled before leaning forward and placing a feather of a kiss to his cheek.

"I'm leaving because it's what has to happen right now" Katie whispered. "One day I will tell you and then you're going to laugh, but for now just accept that your kitten is flying the litter."

"Kittens don't fly"

"Not yet they don't"

"You're trying to distract me with your humor" Tony said with a quirked eyebrow and Katie simply chuckled. "Don't take off my bracelet."

"I won't" Katie replied giving it a slight shake. "This thing will be permanently attached to my body no matter how much I wish it wasn't."She stood there still trying to get a read on his emotions. "So are we cool Mr. Stark or should I start interviewing new best friends. It will be long process, but I'm sure Bruce would-" Suddenly Tony pulled her into a hug and Katie brought her hands around him hugging him back. "If you miss me, just look at that freaky kitten mural."

"No if I miss you, I'm going to call and you're going to answer. No matter the time, place, level of sobriety, you will answer." Tony said before placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Ugh, you're just hell bent on giving me your billionaire cooties" Katie said playfully pulling away. "I guess I should go."

"Wait, before you do, there's something I have to ask you and you can't just run off like you did last night."

"Fine, ask away."

"Ok" Tony said before clearing his throat. "Now I've thought long and hard about this...well not really since it wasn't a hard decision." Katie's phone beeped and Tony glared as he watched her snake it out of her pocket. Before she could look at the screen, he snatched it from her hand.

"Tony-"

"Let me finish" Tony said and Katie simply folded her arms over her chest and waited for him to continue. "Like I said, this really was a no brainer. You're my best bud, my amigo, the peanut butter to my jelly, the oompa to my loompa, the-"

"I think I get your point!" Katie said interrupting him. "I'm awesome, you're awesome. Together we're fucking awesome." she rolled her hand for him to get on with it. "Now get to the point."

"Fine, ruin the moment. Will you be my best man?" Tony asked. "Or should I say best woman, whatever, would you?" Katie smiled widely before she opened her mouth to reply. "Actually you don't have to answer, because you're doing it." she playfully glared at him. "And I hope you know I expect the full on treatment and that includes a kickass bachelor party."

"Can I at least ask when this wedding is happening?"

"I don't know" Tony said his eyes gazing over in thought. "I should probably find out."

"You think!" Katie said before swatting his arm. "Now give me my phone." Tony looked down to the screen and looked confused. "What?"

"Have you been using my AI without me knowing?" Tony asked.

"I thought it was obvious that we share custody of little JAR JAR" Katie said before snatching her phone from his hand looking down to the screen. "You get weekdays and I-" the words stopped right of tongue and Tony noticed the deep frown to came to her face.

"What's wrong?" he glanced down to the phone trying to find the source of her mood change. "Hey-" Katie looked back up to him and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek.

"I have to go" she said and before he could ask anymore questions she was already running to the elevator. The moment she saw spotted Clint and Natasha talking, Katie thanked her lucky stars. "Hey!" they both turned to see the woman running toward them.

"Kat, what's wrong?" Clint asked and Katie simply turned to Natasha.

"Do you have a way to contact Lucifer?"

"Weren't you there when he said-"

"Yeah, I know. Any one comes looking for him, go look to the grave, but this is important. Now can you get in contact with him."

"I have a number that's only suppose to be used in life and death situations and even then he has to actually care."

"Well this time I think he is" Katie said before turning her phone for both Natasha and Clint to see.

"Wait, does that say what I think it says?" Clint asked.

"Ward?" Natasha muttered.

"Grant Ward is HYDRA" Katie said and Natasha brought her eyes back the woman. "We need to contact Coulson right away."

"That's going to be difficult"

"Why?"

"Because Coulson and his team have gone off the grid. No communications in over seventy two hours." They stood there for a few moments letting those words resonate before Katie finally spoke.

"You know that plane I needed on the ready?" Katie asked and Natasha nodded. "Well, ready!"

* * *

**A/N: Lots and lots of little nuggets of information in this chapter that's going to take us far in future chapters. Is Katie's mother alive and if so...where is she? Is this seer from Asgard crazy or should the team be paying more attention? Thor's father has been recluse...that's so unlike Odin. **

**See ya next time!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I'm back and I come bearing gifts!**

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

* * *

At the moment, Katie was slightly nervous. She was also anxious, tense, and angry. But there was a small part of her- a part she wasn't too proud of, that was excited. Her life was beginning to get a little to deep and secrets were being unfolded and right now all she wanted was a distraction. Something she could throw herself into completely and for just a while forget her own troubles. And so she sat cross legged on the grass, her hood over her head and her laptop on her lap.

"Question" Clint said breaking the silence. He chose to stand, keeping his eyes to sky awaiting the plane that would be arriving soon. "When this plane gets here, where exactly is it going?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out now" Katie muttered not taking her eyes from screen. Natasha said Coulson and his team had went off grid and without any bread crumbs Katie was going to have to do something she really didn't want to do. She was going to have to think like Phil Coulson.

"You're cutting it a little close aren't you?"

"Well seeing as I didn't find out that my friend could possibly be in the hands of a psycho murderer, I don't know an hour ago, I would say I'm moving pretty quickly!" Katie snapped still not breaking contact from the screen.

"Look, I know you're worried, but Coulson is smart. I'm sure at this point he's probably figured all of this out." Clint replied and Katie didn't say anything. "Before we freak out, let's just see where the situation is at the moment."

"Well could you do that without talking, because I'm trying to concentrate" Katie said glancing over to him quickly. For a few moments, Clint complied. He stood looking up to the sky before glancing back over to Katie.

Even though Katie wasn't too fond of the man, Ward being HYDRA really was a shock. The entire time she knew him, he was always the straight and arrow type of agent. He was one of those agents who did things by the book no matter how annoying it was.

"I still can't believe it, Ward" he said mirroring Katie's thoughts. "He was good, a good agent, one of the best I've worked with."

"Well you grow up with John Garrett as a mentor, you're sure to grow up a with a few screws loose" Katie said.

"You know I remember you guys seemed a little chummy for a while" Clint said and this was enough for Katie to break her attention from the screen to look to him. "I'm just asking, did anything happen with you two?" Katie looked at him for a long moment with obvious annoyance. "What, it's not a stupid question."

"Actually, it is" she turned back to her laptop and began typing away. "Nothing ever happened between me and Ward."

_Katie's days in SHIELD would usually find her in the one place she loved. Her tiny office that many referred to as the super brain cave. She was typing away in her own little world until a knock startled her. She turned her head to see a familiar face. _

"_And here I was thinking you didn't make it out of cadet hell"Katie said spinning her chair to see Grant Ward leaning on her door frame. The man was dressed to the nines in one of the usual SHIELD black suits. "Good for you." _

"_You're the Super Brain?" Ward asked with a slight chuckle. "And here I was expecting some nerd with a pocket protector." Katie smiled as she opened one side of her jacket to reveal the pocket protect in the breast pocket of her blouse. "I stand corrected. You are a nerd with a pocket protector." _

"_Oh, you're making me blush" Katie said sarcastically before spinning her chair around back to her computer. "I rarely see agents around here unless they need something decrypted, downloaded, or explained really really slowly" she began typing away. "What is it that you want?" _

"_Dinner" Ward said and Katie stopped typing and turned back to him. _

"_I think the cafe is still open if you're hungry" Katie replied and Ward simply smiled before taking a step inside, but Katie quickly shot up a hand. "Uh, I don't believe I invited you in" Ward simply held up his hands and stepped back to the door frame. _

"_May I come in?" _

"_Depends" _

"_On?" _

"_Why are you here?" _

"_I told you dinner" Ward said folding his arms over his chest. "With you." _

"_Why?" _

_His brow furrowed and he simply shook his head as if that was a stupid question. _

"_It's what people do when they like other people. I happen to like you." _

"_You've met me once and in that five minutes you learned next to nothing about me." Katie replied crossing her own arms over her chest. _

"_I beg to differ. I saw your ID badge, so I knew you were a brain and that meant you had to be smart. And then our conversation, although short had it's humorous moments. So smarts and humor is kind of a good combination and so here I am." She still looked slightly suspicious. "Why is it hard for you to believe that someone would ask you out." _

"_I'm not, I'm surprised some guy I met weeks ago is suddenly showing up in my office asking me out to dinner." Katie said before standing to her feet. "Is this some sort of new recruit prank, because if it is I promise I'm not the techie you want to be messing with." _

"_This isn't a prank, this is me thinking that maybe you would enjoy my company for an evening." _

"_Why would you think I would enjoy your company?" Katie asked and Ward grabbed his chest in mock offense. "I get it, you really don't know me and that's cool, not a lot of people do. So this little nugget of information I'm going to just tell you. I do not trust easily, especially people I don't know and you-" she squinted her eyes with a slight shake of her head. "There's just something about you that I can't put my finger on." _

"_That could be a good thing." _

"_Or it could be a disaster." _

"_And don't we owe it to ourselves to find out?" Ward asked and Katie simply walked over to him. _

"_Sorry, I have to figure you out first." Katie replied. _

"_You know, no woman has ever made me work this hard" Ward replied and Katie laughed , but stopped when another familiar face appeared at her door. _

"_Well today must be my lucky day. Two handsome gentlemen gracing my door" Katie said. "What can I do for you Agent Barton?" Clint looked between Katie and Ward who stood up a little straighter in his presence. _

"_Sir" the young Agent greeted before looking over to Katie. "I should go." _

"_I will be here if you need something decrypted, downloaded or explained really, really slowly" Katie said with a wave. _

"_You know, I just my take you up on that" Ward said glancing over to Clint, noticing a slight glare the man wore, before turning and walking away. _

"_What was that about?" Clint suddenly asked and Katie turned to him and glared. _

"_How can I help you today Agent Barton?" Katie asked ignoring his question. Clint simply pulled a disk from his pocket and handed it to Katie. "I will get this back to you in an hour." Katie turned and walked back over to her desk. _

"_Seriously, what was that about Kat?" _

"_Door, close!" Katie yelled to her AI and suddenly the door slid closed in the man's face. _

Soon the shuttering of propeller blades snapped Katie from her thought. She glanced up to the sky to see the large plane lowering.

"So you got anything?" Clint asked looking over to her.

"Yeah, from what Natasha was able to give me access to, I was able to come across something" Katie replied standing to her feet and walking over to him. "Look" Clint looked at the screen for a moment not sure what he should be looking at. "It was buried deep and even encrypted, but they're coordinates. Most likely from Fury to his good eye." they both looked out to see the plane touching land. "Least now we have a starting point."

It wasn't the usual flashy ,high tech SHIELD plane they were accustomed, but they figured since there wasn't anymore SHIELD, all the neat toys probably were under lock and key as well. Clint sat beside Katie whose eyes were closed for the majority of the ride.

"I still don't understand, how after all this time you still hate flying." Clint said and Katie opened her eyes to look over to him. "It's the safest form of travel. You know I read somewhere that you're more likely to get struck by lightening then to die in a plane crash."

"You know I think I read that too" Katie said turning her body toward him. "I also read that you're more likely to get punched in the face in this plane if you keep talking, then if you were on the ground."

"You know you say things like that, but you know you can't take me Kat" Clint says reaching down to take her hand in his.

"You think so?" Katie asked unable to stop the smile on her lips. There was a slight tingling inside her stomach that always seemed to rear it's ugly head when only he touched her. "You know that kind of sounded like a challenge."

"Not a challenge, just a statement of fact" Clint replied folding his arms over his chest as he closed his eyes and lied back on his seat. Katie sat there staring at him for a moment just shaking her head.

"You know you're going to have to back that up, right?"

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it" Clint replied opening his eyes and turning to her with a look that showed he was not talking about sparring. It was a look he seemed to only give her and that always stirred feelings inside of her that at the moment they could not afford to entertain.

"Keep that look to yourself Agent Barton, we're working" Katie said turning away from him before she unbuckled her belt and jumped him right there.

"Later, then?" he asked and Katie could feel his eyes on her, but she refused to turn to him. His hand slipped to her thigh and she turned to him with a playful glare.

"You need to focus" Katie said grabbing his hand before it to an even better flight. She grabbed her laptop and placed it in her lap.

"What are you looking for now?"

"If Coulson is at Providence, then us just walking through the front door won't be an option" Katie said typing away. "And since all of SHIELD's files are now the property of the US government, I'm going to have to be extra careful when I...done" Clint leaned over to see the schematics of the base. "That was easier than I thought it would, our government needs to seriously invest in a better cyber division. It's laughable."

"Providence is a pretty high security base, and if its really one of the few bases still SHIELD controlled, then you better believe slipping in won't be easy." Clint said looking down to the screen. "My credentials probably are still active, I could try talking to whoever is in charge."

"I don't think that's going to work" Katie said. "The whole world just witnessed SHIELD imploding. No one's trusting anybody right now. Let's just hope Coulson is there and will jump for joy when he see us."

"I think we have a better chance at getting struck by lightening then to see Coulson jump for joy right now"Clint replies. "He was one of the people I can honestly say was the job. He believed in what he did and now to find out that the majority of it was a lie-" Clint shook his head and Katie looked over to him to realize that maybe he wasn't just talking about Coulson.

"What about you?" Katie asked and Clint looked over to him. "You were the job too or maybe you still are."

"Kat-"

"Clint Barton I love you and I understand that all of this is hard on you, so if you're a little upset with the way things turned out, then I would understand. SHIELD was your life and-"

"You're my life now" Clint interrupted her grabbing her hand and pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles. Katie closed her laptop and slid it off her lap before turning and leaning forward to bring her lips to his in a sweet, warm kiss that had them both buzzing. When the need for air was too great, they pulled away, Clint's hand resting on Katie's cheek, while her hands rested on his chest.

"This will be it." Katie said with a soft smile. "We save uncle Phil, and then you and me, we disappear for a little while." Clint pulled back slightly, his brow furrowed as he looked at her. She thought she said something wrong and quickly just shook her head. "If you want, I mean if not then-" her words were cut short by Clint's lips slammed against hers in a kiss fueled by pure, passionate, unwavering love. "So I'm guessing you're alright with this."

"You've picked up that annoying thing where words come out of your mouth" Clint said pulling her closer to him. "You don't do that the whole time we're together, do you?" Katie laughed as he reached over and unbuckled her seat belt and pulled her into his lap. They had been at it for a while before the sound of someone clearing their throat brought them back to reality. Both turned to see one of the pilots with a large duffel in his hand.

"Sorry to-" he just gestured a hand to them. "We're going to be landing soon and we were instructed to give you this." The pilot simply sat the bag on the floor before turning and going back to the cockpit. Katie and Clint shared a look before looking down to their current position. It was a small seat, but they found a way to tangle themselves in one another.

"That was embarrassing" Katie said pulling from Clint and walking over to grab the bag. She knelt down and unzipped the bag and quirked an eyebrow at what she saw.

"What is it?"

"Either Natasha has a really sick sense of humor or I'm not going to be liking this trip very much" Katie says pulling out a really puffy winter coat. She looked over to Clint who just shook his head. "So I'm guessing it's going to get cold."

"Oh sweet heart you're going to be begging for New Mexico" Clint replied trying to hold in his laughter.

Once the plane landed and Katie and Clint stepped off, seeing nothing but snow in their sights. Both looked a bit nervous, as the plane that had just carried them was lifting into the sky without them.

"Who the fuck would build anything here?" Katie said shivering under her thick coat. She was totally bundled up from top to bottom, but she was still cold.

"It's not that bad" Clint said scanning the area. Katie looked over to him to see him looking completely unaffected by the weather. "I've been worse places."

"Well whoopty freaking doo, where is this place?" Katie asked as Clint lifted his eyes to the sky.

"That way?"

"What, did the wind tell you?" Katie asked trying to figure out where that piece of information came from.

"Actually it did" Clint said and Katie simply stared with a look of unamusement. He turned to her to reveal the GIS device in his hand. "It was in my pocket." Katie simply shook her head before walking past him. They'd been walking for what seemed like forever. After a while Katie began to get tired and just couldn't walk anymore, so she stopped and plopped down in the snow. "We have to keep going so we don't lose the sun"

"I get that, I really do, but I was never one for nature" Katie closed her eyes and tried to even out her breaths. "Even when my dad-" she stopped and opened her eyes as if she said something she wasn't suppose to say.

"What?"

"Nothing." Katie said with a shake of her head.

"You know you can talk about him" Clint says walking over and kneeling in front of her. "To me, you can talk about him."

"I know, I just don't think I can" Katie replied. "Whenever I start talking about him, it always leads to that moment in the living room, with Lumen" Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before jumping to her feet. "You're right, we should keep moving." and so they were walking again. This time in silence, until Clint decided to do something he probably shouldn't, but he was going to do it anyway.

"So what was he like?" Clint asked and Katie glanced over to him. "Your dad" she shook her head and just turned away.

"I thought we had a deal, you weren't going to ask about him" Katie replied.

"Yeah, well things are different now. This whole thing with your mom possibly being alive. Your dad may have knew, so at some point you're going to have to dredge this stuff up."

"Some point isn't now" Katie countered. "And talking about my dad isn't going to answer any questions. He never even hinted that my mother could still be alive and so if he did know then he was really good at hiding it. I guess SHIELD agents are trained to be good liars." suddenly Katie stopped.

"What?" Clint asked stopping as well.

"I'm just thinking if my mother is alive, who would have the ability to hide something like that?" Katie asked.

"You think SHIELD could be involved?"

"They've been involved with every other nook and cranny of my life, so why not?" Katie said as they continued walking. "I can't believe I'm even entertaining this idea. My mother is dead, that's that and whatever those men were looking for, it wasn't my mother."

"We've seen a lot of strange things Kat" Clint replied. "Maybe faking one's death is a hereditary trait?" Katie tossed a fist to his arm. "Ow!"

"Hey, I heard physical contact is good in such weather conditions" Katie said and Clint reached over and grabbed her before pulling her closer to him.

"You know I think I heard that too" Clint replied bringing his arms around her and leaning in close. "But what I heard involve a little less clothing than we have now."

"Really? That's too bad because there is no amount of kissing or touching that you can do that can get me to take off a stitch of clothing right now" Katie said with a teeth chattering smile. "You can kiss me though, maybe that will warm me up." Clint leaned forward bringing his lips to hers.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much" Katie replied as he brought his lips back to hers. As always, when they began kissing, they began to ignore everything around them. The only thing to bring them back to reality was the sound of the clicking of the clip of a gun being ejected. Katie and Clint both froze, their eyes looking to each other as they began to raise their hands.

"Hands on your head, now!" a voice yelled and Katie and Clint slowly brought their hands to the back of their head.

"SHIELD?" Katie whispered.

"Or HYDRA" Clint whispered back before turning his head to the right. "One." Katie turned her head to the left.

"I got one" she muttered giving the man a look over. He was wearing army colors. Clint took a step, but Katie grabbed his jacket. He looked back to her with confusion. "Wait, I think there's a third option"

"I said hands on your head or I will shoot." the man said and Clint looked over to the man, now noticing the man's uniform as well. He looked over to the other who had a hand pressed to his ear.

"Yes sir" the man said before looking over to his partner. "The boss wants us to bring them in" the other man simply nodded.

"What do we do?" Katie whispered to Clint.

"We see where they take us" he replied before they were pushed behind one of the men, while the other trailed behind them his gun held firmly in his hand. They hadn't been walking long when they walked to a rock wall, or in other words, a dead end.

"What is this?" Katie asked looking over her shoulder to the gun wielding guard. "There's nothing here." As if to answer her question, a sound hit Katie's ears. She turned to see the rock wall opening up, revealing something more. "So secret facility is really secret?"

"No kidding" Clint muttered as they walked inside. They moment they stepped inside they were immediately greeted with familiar faces of Coulson, Maria and the unexpected face of Colonel Glen Talbot.

"You can lower your guns" Maria said glaring to the guard behind them. "They're with us. I don't know how or even why, but they are." she looked over to the Colonel who simply nodded and the man lowered his weapon and Katie and Clint finally lowered their hands.

"Who exactly are they?" the colonel asked looking over to Maria.

"They're with me, that's all you're getting Colonel" Maria said with an annoyed look before turning back to Clint and Katie. "To be honest this is the last place I thought I would see you two, which only worries me." Katie looked over to Coulson who remained quiet.

"I need to talk to you" Katie said and Coulson simply nodded. She looked over to Clint and then to Maria. "You may want to join us." Katie then looked to Talbot. "You, not so much." and with that Katie followed behind Coulson, Maria and Clint right behind her.

"Hill-" Talbot started and Maria turned to him.

"I'm giving you a gold mine here, you can give us ten minutes" Maria said before turning to join the others.

They all walked into an empty room silently. Once Maria walked in, and Clint closed the door and placed himself in front of it.

"This is a surprise, and if it's one thing I've learned, it's that there are no good surprises." Maria said looking over to Clint and Katie. "This was once a well kept secret, how the hell did you find it."

"Well one, there are rarely any secrets that were kept from the lab tech. None of you knew it but I was unlocking doors and snooping most of the time I was there." Katie said with a shrug. "And two since all SHIELD files are the property of the US government, it was barely a secret anyway." she turned to Coulson who'd been uncharacteristically quiet. "I had to think like Coulson and ask myself WWCD" she smiled slightly.

"And that worked?" Hill asked.

"No, so I combed through the files until I found one of Coulson files and there was an encrypted attachment and yada yada yada, I found the coordinates to this facility."

"Why?" Coulson spoke and Katie turned to him.

"I thought I was coming to save you, but it looks like I'm too late" Katie replied looking over to Maria. "I'm guessing you know. Well of course you know because if you didn't, there wouldn't be an obnoxious Colonel and his merry men standing in one of Fury's super secret bases." no one said any thing and Katie looked between Maria and Coulson. "Why do I get the feeling that this is something else."

"Why are you here?" Coulson asked the patience clearly slipping away.

"HYDRA spanded further than any of us knew and were right under our noses. I wanted to make sure your team was clear." Katie said and Coulson turned away. He wasn't curious and that could only mean he already knew what she was about to say.

"Ok, I'm lost, what is this?" Maria asked searching their faces for answers. Coulson turned back to Katie and in that moment she could see the toll that all of this had taken on him. It was in his eyes. At unexpected times, all of Phil Coulson's emotions were in his eyes.

"Why is the Colonel here?" Katie asked turning to Maria who sighed with a shake of her head. "Did you sell out?"

"Oh, grow up. I didn't sell out, because their's nothing to sell out." Maria replied, her eyes turning to Coulson's. " We are gonna turn over these abandoned tunnels to the US government, who will be ever so grateful to take possession of an enemy stronghold in their backyard."

"And my team?" Coulson asked taking a step toward the woman and Katie took a step back to get out of the line of any blows the may be passed. They continued with the back and forth before Katie finally stepped forward to separate them.

"This isn't helping anything!" Katie said looking between the agents. "We don't have time for this. We still have HYDRA to deal with apparently."

"After DC, they don't stand a chance" Maria replied.

"John Garrett does" Coulson said and a frown formed on Maria's face.

"Garret?" Maria looked between Katie and Coulson to see that this little fact was only news to her. "I thought Ward took care of him."

"So did a lot of people" Katie replied with a shake of her head. "And it would seem we were played."

"Ward's his secret weapon" Coulson said and the look of shock washed over Maria's face. She turned away trying to rack her minds for any clues that could've foretold this, but there weren't any. He really did play them. "He killed Victoria Hand and raided the Fridge and he has Skye."

"Skye?" Katie asked turning to Coulson. "Your computer lady?" Coulson simply nodded. "Does she have her computer?"

"I don't know, but I've already tracked the bus to LA" Coulson said turning back to Maria.

"Well they're there for a reason, and if I can flag her, maybe she can give us they're exact location" Katie said walking over to her bag and pulling out her laptop and opening it up. "I'm going to need a little help from Pip and Dip" Katie looked up to the faces looking at her. "Where are they?" no one said anything as everyone turned to Maria. "C'mon Hill this changes things and you know it, so just hop on the bandwagon already." Maria shook her head before turning her eyes to Katie.

"What are you going to need?"

Katie opened her mouth before the door pushed open. Clint took a step back, moving to stand beside Maria as Colonel Talbot and two of his soldiers came waltzing in.

"Can we move this thing along?" the Colonel asked looking between their faces, a smug grin on his face. "I'd like to tear this room apart." Maria looked over to Clint and slightly nodded before glancing over to Coulson and did the same. Katie took a couple of steps back and rested her back against the wall and waited.

"Sure thing" Maria said taking a step toward Talbot. "Knock yourself out." without hesitation, Maria punched the Colonel in the face. The other two soldiers stepped forward, but Clint and Coulson was there to take them. Katie stood at her place on the wall, silently watching the fight in front of her before glancing to her watch. She rolled her hand, gesturing for them to hurry up. Once the last soldier fell, the three former agents stood panting as Katie pushed herself from the wall.

"That was exciting" Katie sighs sarcastically stepping over the unconscious soldiers and out the door.

"Was she always this annoying?" Maria asked looking between Coulson and Clint who simply nodded.

Katie walked to a nearby room, where she heard voices. She walked inside to see Fitz, Simmons, and a man she'd never seen before. But her attention turned to the last of Talbot's men that was keeping guard.

"Katie?" Simmons surprised voice nearly yelled in the quiet room. All eyes suddenly went to Katie who simply waved before placing her things on a nearby table.

"What's going on?" The guard asked walking toward Katie his gun held in front of him. "Where's the Colonel?"

"Ok, about that" Katie said holding up her hands in surrender. "You're not going to believe it, but-" Katie unexpectedly grabbed the front of the man's gun, forcing it to point upwards against his restraint. She then kicked him in the stomach, releasing his grasp on the gun. With the gun in her hands, Katie jabbed the but of the rifle in the man's face knocking him out. "Your boss is unconscious in the other room." Katie tossed the gun on the floor before she was immediately pulled into a hug.

"God, it's good to see you!" Jemma Simmons said tightly embracing Katie. Katie hugged back, knowing that the past couple of days must have been crazy for her and the rest of the team.

"It's good to see you too Jem" Katie replied before the two parted. She looked over the familiar face of Leo Fitz standing to his feet as well. He only slightly glanced to her before turning away.

"Did you hear about Ward?" Jemma asked and Katie nodded before walking over to Fitz.

"I'm sorry" the man nearly muttered. Katie took a step closer and moved to stand in his sight. "I thought you-" he shook his head. "You weren't the traitor. He was and he-"

"Leo, it's fine" Katie said placing a hand on his shoulder. "A lot of things that happened and are happening don't make sense, and they're confusing. You were made to believe one thing when another was happening."

"He's the one who made me believe that you weren't to be trusted." Fitz said turning away from her. "And I let him. After all the time that we... I'm sorry"

"Don't-"

"But I am" Fitz replied and Katie simply nodded before pulling him into a hug.

"Alright!" Maria's voice called and they all turned to see the the woman.

"Where's Bart and Coulson?" Katie asked.

"They've gone to get rid of anymore of Talbot's men and take his ride." Maria replied. "So while they're doing that, you should do your thing." Katie nodded walking over to her bag and grabbing her laptop before walking back over to Fitz and Simmons.

"Ok guys, it's time for team Brains" Katie said taking a seat as Leo and Jemma hovered over her shoulder to look to the screen. "Coulson tracked the bus to LA, but I wanted to see if Skye could narrow that for us. I need to access the IP address of Skye's computer to get her exact locale?"

"Assuming she has her computer and that he hasn't-" Simmons shook her head at the thought that Skye could really be in danger.

"You said once that Skye reminds you of me" Katie said and Simmons turned to her and nodded. "Well if that's true, then she's going to play him until she's clear. Right now we have to assume he doesn't suspect she's made him. He still thinks he's the one playing her." Katie turned back to her computer. "You two still have your gifts I sent you?"

"You mean the cool super illegal one that we're never suppose to talk about out loud?" Fitz asked and Katie nodded. "Of course." he leaned over her shoulder and typed in a few keys. "Here are some files sent to me from Sky's computer."

"And that's all I need" Katie said before her own fingers were typing away.

"Ok" Agent Antonie Triplett said walking over to stand beside Maria. "I may be a little late here, but is tha-t-"

"That is Sparrow" Hill said as they watched the woman disappear in her work.

"Huh, I've heard about her but never seen her" Triplett replied watching as well. "She was starting to become as mythological as the Winter Soldier was."

"Well she's not really into attention, which some would say is a good thing" Maria said before walking over to get progress.

"Alright, while I'm working, we are going momentarily break rule number one" Katie said her fingers never stopping and her eyes never leaving the screen. "Why does Ward want Skye?"

"There's a flash drive" Simmons said. "It has all the research we've ever done on it. Lot's of valuable information that Skye incrypted."

"And now Ward wants it" Katie muttered before her fingers suddenly stopped. "I guess we shouldn't let him then." she leaned in closer to the screen as a black and gray map appeared, a blinking dot appearing, "I've got her" Katie looks up to Maria. "We're ready to go"

Soon they were on another plane, this one larger than the other. Katie sat once again with her eyes closed. Clint was in the front of the plane with Maria at the controls.

"So what's the plan?" Simmons asked breaking the plane's silence.

"Extraction." Coulson says simply. "I get Skye, stop Ward and then come back."

"I still can't believe-" Jemma let out a long sigh. "He was here and he made us think he cared. How could he do that?"

"It's what he was trained to do" Katie spoke and they glanced over to see her still closed eyes. "You see us brains can never truly understand the grueling mind of our agent co-workers. They're forced to put aside they morality and their compassion." her eyes flick open. "They're trained to lie with such conviction that even their own daughter wouldn't know it." she turned to the others seeing the confused looks they were giving her. "That's my opinion anyway"

Once they arrived in LA, locating the bus was simple. Coulson was up and getting ready once the plane landed. Though to his surprise, his solo mission wasn't going to be as solo as he thought. Clint walked into the cabin to see Fitz and Simmons, but Coulson and Katie were gone.

"Where's-" they simply gave him a look that answered his question. He ran back to the cockpit to see Coulson and Katie both running on foot to Coulson's aircraft.

"You should go back!" Coulson called as they ran toward the bus. "I can't handle this alone."

"And I believe you" Katie replied. "But there was no way in hell I was going to let you"

"Let me?" Coulson asked as they stopped right below the landing gear. They heard the plane's engine and knew it would be lifting into the air soon. They both looked up before jumping and grabbing the side of the landing gear and pulling themselves on the plane. The moment their feet were on the plane, Coulson pulled out his gun and looked over to Katie. "Do you-" she reached behind her and pulled out a gun as well.

"Maria gave it to me" Katie whispered as they looked around the plane.

"She knew you'd be doing this?"

"She said she had a feeling I would need this" Katie replied as they quietly walked the plane. "I'm going this way, you go-"

"No, we're not splitting up" Coulson whispered and Katie looked over his shoulder.

"You have a big plane Agent Coulson and some might say that it's one of those over compensating things, but I see a very large plane with a lot of area to cover. Let's find your girl and get the hell out of here." Coulson hesitated for a moment before nodding and turning down one hall, while Katie went down another. Katie had been walking for a while before she stopped at the sound of gun fire. She turned about to go check it out, but found that probably wasn't going to be an easy thing to do.

"Kate, I really didn't expect to see you here" Ward said glancing down to Katie's gun. He took a step.

"I really wouldn't do that, because you and I both know that I wouldn't think twice about putting a bullet in you Grant" Katie said watching the man closely. A sadistic smirk came to his lips as he looked down to his gun. "You had a lot of people fooled you know that. Those people who've been working with you, who thought you were their friend, do you know what that did to them?"

"It was nothing personal" Ward replied and Katie scoffed.

"That's the agent motto isn't it? What you have to tell yourself as you're stabbing your friends in the back." Ward took another step and Katie shot a round right in front of the spot where his foot was. "I'm seriously practicing a lot of restraint right now seeing as you could be an asset to taking down your fucked up boss, so do not try me Grant." Katie lifted her eyes to see someone, she figured wasn't there to help her, coming behind Ward. One side of the man's face was badly scarred as he looked to Katie with a look that showed he wasn't happy. He was wearing some sort of body armor, that Katie noted looked very advanced.

"Where is she?" Ward asked still looking to Katie, but talking to the man behind him.

"Gone" the man said his eyes still on Katie. "Coulson drove them out of here"

"Drove?" Ward asked slightly confused, and made a note to ask about it later. The man suddenly rose his arm toward Katie, and suddenly some sort of device rose from his forearm.

"Hey!" Katie said her gun now pointing to him. "Do not move!"

"He's going to want her alive" Ward says over his shoulder. "You know he is." without a word a sudden laser shot from the device hitting Katie right in the chest knocking her to the ground on her back.

"I know" the man said as they walked to stand above her watching her body twitch from the electric shock.

_It was the biggest back yard she'd ever seen. That was the single thought a young Katie had as she ran through the large yard. She couldn't stop laughing as she followed a brightly colored butterfly. _

"_I think she likes it here" a female voice spoke and Katie turned to see her daddy standing beside the pretty lady who she'd seen only a few times before. "I wish-" Martin took the woman's hand and she turned to him. _

"_I know" he spoke before placing a kiss to her forehead. "But you know what has to happen." they both turned back to the little girl who was watching them. _

"_I know" she said before walking over to the girl who held her arms open welcomely. _

A loud snap of fingers literally snapped Katie back to consciousness. She opened her eyes, everything still a bit blurry and her body was buzzing. Fingers appeared in front of her face and snapped again, before the face of someone she hadn't seen in a long time also appeared.

"Hey there darlin" John Garrett said with a wide smile. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

* * *

**A/N: How many people saw that coming? John Garrett wants answers from Katie, which isn't as strange as the fact that she also wants answers from him. So the question is, whose going to find what they're looking for?**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Here is a new chapter for you. Bright and Bushy-tailed. **

**READ IT. ENJOY IT. REVIEW IT.**

* * *

It happened again. Clint couldn't believed it happened, but it did and now he was standing in some seedy motel room with Coulson and Hill.

"We'll need a base of operations, weapons, tactical backup." Coulson said while packing a bag with the supplies they snagged from the colonel's plane. "Who do you have working for you?"

"Okay, wait, wait." Maria said taking a step toward the man. "Hold on, Coulson. There is no more more hidden bunkers."

"So you're saying that in the event that one of us got in to trouble-"

"If anyone found themselves in trouble then they better damn well be prepared to get themselves out of it." Maria interrupted. "Sparrow knew the risks when she stepped on that plane and just like every other agent-"

"But she's not an agent!" Coulson snapped. "Cut the crap, I know Fury has others."

"There is no Fury" Maria said with a shake of her head. "We're not bringing the band back together again, Coulson. It's over. There is no SHIELD anymore."

"Fine" Clint spoke breaking his silence. Coulson and Maria turned to him. "If know one will help, then I'll do it myself." Clint turned and stormed out of the room.

"Barton!" Maria called but he didn't stop. Hill simply growled in frustration before turning to Coulson. "You have to talk some sense into him before he gets himself killed."

"Why would I do that when I want the same thing he does."

"No you don't. Sure you want Sparrow back, but you and I both know that what you want is to take down Garrett and Ward and if you can do it, do it and walk. Let your people go their separate ways."

"And what? Turn themselves in? Cut a deal? Work in the private sector?"

"You know Stark would take you in a heartbeat."

"It's not my style." Coulson said and turned to the open door. "Sparrow's not an agent because if she was, she wouldn't be her." he turned back Hill. "She's still an asset and friend and we're going to get her back."

"Good luck" Maria said with a nod.

Skye was fiddling with the vending machine when Clint stalked by. She looked back to see if anyone else had come out of the room, but there was no one.

"Hey!" Skye called running after him. He didn't stop his fast paced walking, forcing her to quicken her step to keep up. "What's going on?"

"Since everyone's idea for a next move is to just sit on your ass, I'm going to actually do something and get her back" Clint says.

"Hey, wait. Stop!" Skye did something she probably shouldn't have done and grabbed the man's arm and moved to stand in front of him. "Look I get you're worried but you going on some solo mission against HYDRA sort of spells out trouble."

"Thanks for your concern person I've never met before, but if you don't mind-" Clint moved to step around her, but she moved with him.

"Skye!" Fitz's voice called and Skye looked over to see Fitz and Simmons both standing looking very nervous. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Skye simply shook her head before turning back to Clint.

"I know right now the go to option is to not trust anyone, and given where I've been for the past couple of days I understand, but I'm telling you that you're going to need help and right now we're it."

"Why?" Clint asked. "You have your own fight and I have mine. We came here for one thing and that was to make sure you all were safe and in the know about Ward. Now you do and she's just gone in the process. Right now I just want to get her back and get us as far away from anything as possible."

"Then let us help you" a voice spoke and Clint and Skye turned to see Coulson. "Like you said you have your fight and we have ours, but in the end we want the same thing. Despite what everyone's saying, there is still something here. SHIELD isn't just dead. SHIELD is right here, with us." Clint shook his head and turned away in thought. "They need her for something and as long as they need that, than they will keep her alive."

"But there are things worse than death, right?" Clint asked turning back to the man. "Things we were taught. What they were taught. Things that will make her wish she was dead. I know Garrett and you do too. He won't hold back."

"And she won't either." Coulson replied. "He will push her and she will push back. It will take something worse than John Garrett to break her."

Her wrists were bound together above her head and her feet chained to the floor by her ankles. She kept her eyes closed, trying to focus, which seemed to be the hardest thing to do at the moment. Her current tactic was replaying everything she knew at the moment. She was still on Coulson's plane, Ward was HYDRA, Garrett...

"You still with me honey" his light southern drawl hit her once again. He was close to her face, his breath warm her ear. And then he laughed and Katie pulled at the chains holding her arms as she snapped opened her eyes to glare at the man. "There she is. There's the anomaly wrapped in a contradiction." Katie looked over the man's shoulder to see Ward leaning against the wall his arms folded over his chest. Garrett followed her eyes and laughed again. "I bet you didn't even see my boy coming. Your daddy would be so disappointed." Katie once again pulled at the chains and Garrett turned to her. "Now I know the legendary Marty Chambers trained you up good and the one thing he beat into you was to pay attention to the signs."

"Screw you, you sick son of a bitch!" Katie growled through her teeth. Focus. It was still playing in her head as if at any moment she was just going to black out again.

"You even have your daddy's mouth" Garrett said chuckling before reaching into his pocket and pulling out something Katie recognized. It was the flash Fury had gave to her. "I see you have something that doesn't belong to you. I'm sure you're just busting at the seems wondering what was so special about you and your dear old parents." he shook his head. "Hell there were times I asked myself that same question, but people in the expensive seats had their reasons."

"Is this going to be a long story because I'm moments away from blacking out again and don't need to be pushed into it" Katie said eying the man. "Let's just cut through the bullshit and get straight to point. Why am I here?"

"See there you go again" Garrett says wagging a finger to her. "Not paying attention. If you were paying attention, you'd already know the answer to that question." Katie looked at him for a moment trying to rack her brain for anything that made sense. Garrett's phone beeped and the man snagged it out of his pocket and glanced down to the screen. "We're going to continue this later. Right now I have more pressing things to deal with." he looked over his shoulder to Ward. "Keep her company"

"Yes sir" Ward replied before watching the man leave them. Once the door slid closed Katie and Ward's eyes went to each other. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" Katie asked. "Like a backstabbing, bottom feeding piece of shit. Is that how I'm looking at you right now? I really hope I am." Ward turned away from her. "Is that-is that guilt I see, Grant?" he glared over to her. "You know you pissed off a lot of people. You know as well as anyone that letting people in is the one thing SHIELD teaches you not to do. You trust no one. They went against what they were taught and they-" she shook her head. "We trusted you and you let us down."

"Are you really playing the guilt card, Kate?" Ward asked walking over to her. "It won't work."

"Oh, I think it's already working. You maybe totally bat shit, fucked in the head like your buddy Garrett, but you do have something he doesn't."

"And what's that?"

"Your heart. It's why he placed you with Coulson and his team. He knew they'd see it. That thing he calls your weakness." Ward turned his back to her. "This is that moment Grant. That moment when your conscious is supposed to kick in." he turned back to her with a look of confusion. "You could end this now, because if you don't I promise there won't be a light at the end of your tunnel. They won't let it." he stared at her. Long and hard, but she couldn't read the emotions in his face. He was like Natasha in that way, always wearing his emotions on the inside, making him practically unreadable.

"I'm not the one who should be worried about seeing the end" Ward said. "You serve one purpose and once that purpose is served, there won't be any use for you."

"What purpose?"

"All in good time Kate" Grant said with a smile before turning and walking toward the door. "All in good time." Katie watched him until he was gone before lifting her head to her bound hands. Her eyes simply looked to the charm bracelet on her wrist.

"I knew I should've mentioned you to Bart" she muttered before closing her eyes and dropping her head.

Clint didn't sleep. He couldn't sleep. Not when he didn't know where Katie was. They were still held up at the motel, two days later. Coulson and May had been working on something, but it was too technical for him to even care to follow. They were working on an anglel to lead to Garrett and right now that wasn't the plan he wanted to be apart of. He needed a plan that lead to Katie. And the beginning of that plan was to make a call he did not want to make.

Clint paced back and forth along the pool, his phone gripped tightly in his hand. They hadn't even been gone a week before they'd found trouble. He could practically hear the annoying voice of the man he needed to call.

"You've been out here for a while" a voice spoke and Clint turned to see Melinda May. She'd shown up the same night Katie was taken. "You want to talk about it."

"Not really" Clint replied still pacing and glancing down to his phone ever so often. "You guys find something."

"We''ve found a connection between Garrett and a company called Cybertek, it's-"

"I've heard of them" Clint says interrupting. The large tech company was pretty big and even rival Stark Inc in some areas. But Clint wasn't too interested in tech companies at the moment. "How does that help me find Katie."

"It doesn't" May replied and Clint finally stopped pacing and looked over to her. "Agent Barton, you are in the field right now and your emotions are getting the best of you."

"My emotions are not getting the best of me. If they were, somebody would be dead right now" Clint growls before stalking over to the woman. "And right now, I'm not Agent Barton because there's nothing to be an agent of. SHIELD is gone and right now the only thing I have is being kept by some Nazi lunatic. Cybertek, what do they have to do with anything."

"They're practically connected to every case we've come across. Garrett included. He's hiding something and we think we could find it there."

"So what's the plan?"

"Data collection. We get it and we find the truth." May replied

"That's gonna be kind of hard without any SHIELD toys" Clint said and May simply smiled. "But I'm guessing Coulson has a way around that."

"You know his mind is always spinning." May said before nudging her head to their room. "C'mon, we could use you." Clint didn't move and May sighed as she turned to him. "This doesn't get us directly to her, but it gets us a step closer. Right now that's the best we can do." Clint looked at her for a moment. A step was better than anything he had at the moment. So he just nodded and followed her to the room.

At the moment, Katie's main objective was to keep her eyes open. Blacking out and not knowing what was happening to her or around her was not an option. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, hoping it would keep her conscious. Katie looked up to her wrists at the metal clamps around them. She'd stared at them for nearly an hour trying to come up with a plausible way to free herself from them. Her eyes glanced down to her ankles that were clamped with the same metal, but the chains were long enough that she could move them.

"C'mon, think." Katie muttered when suddenly the door slid open and in walked a woman. "Another one of Garrett groupie's."

"I am not a groupie." the woman said walking over to Katie. "I am a fan though. Of yours."

"Are you fan enough to get me out of this thing?" Katie asked and the woman simply shook her head.

"That's not why I'm here" the woman said and Katie turned away. "I just wanted to see you. I remember reading about you when I was in college. The young woman making a splash in the scientific world and then all of a sudden you just disappeared. Who knew you'd been scooped up by SHIELD."

"So what you're saying is you didn't come here to help me?" Katie asked turning back to the woman.

"You know we have a mutual acquaintance. I believe you know Myles" the woman said. "He-"

"I don't care!" Katie snapped, the chains rattling as she pulled them in frustration. "I'm chained on a plane by a crazy person. The last thing I want to do is have girl talk with an equally crazy broad. So do me a favor, get the hell out of here." the door once again slides open and in walks Ward.

"Raina, what-" he looks between the two women. "You know no one's suppose to come here."

"I was just too curious" Raina replies with a shake of her head before turning and heading for the door. She stops just before leaving and turns back to Katie. "One day you're going to wish you listened to what I had to say."

"Today, I'm just wishing you'd disappear." Katie replied before they woman turned and walked out. "Get me out of this Ward, because the longer you keep me chained up like this, like an animal, the angrier I get. And to quote a friend of mine, you will not-hell you're gonna hate me when I get angry."

"Sorry Kate" Ward said walking over to her. "You're just gonna-" before he could get another word out, Katie had kicked her legs up and wrapped them around his neck.

"I'm sorry Grant, what were you saying?" Katie taunted as she squeezed her legs as tightly as she could around his neck, but Ward wouldn't go down without a fight. He began pulling her legs and too her dismay he really was stronger than he looked and soon freed himself.

"That-" Ward said hunched over grabbing his knees to catch his breath. "That was a bad idea." he stood up straight and walked over to her before grabbing her shoulder and throwing a forceful punch to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. "One day you're going to learn that you really are just a brain and that you should've stayed in your little lab." he lifted her chin to bring her eyes to his. "And because of that little stunt, we get to take a field trip." he slipped his phone from his pocket and hit one button before bringing it to his ear. "Yeah, we're moving her."

Clint sat in the passenger side of a van outside of Cybertek, his eyes looking out the window, but his head was elsewhere.

"We should say something to him." Simmons whispered over to Fitz from the back of the van where they along with Skye and Triplett were sitting as they awaited for Coulson and May to contact them again"He's really worried about her."

"What can we say?" Leo replied. " We have no idea why Garrett wants her or if she's even still alive."

"She's still alive" Skye said looking down to her computer. They all looked to her for her to explain her sudden knowledge. She looks up to see their eyes on her.

"And how do you know that?" Agent Triplett asks.

"Because someone like her is just too valuable to kill. From what I heard, she was like the oracle of SHIELD. She knows a lot of secrets and someone like that you just don't kill. He wants something from her, what, I guess that's what we need to find out."

"Hey, guys, get ready for a large file transfer." Coulson's voice announces through the ear piece.

"How large?" Skye asks when suddenly they hear a loud crash. They all jump out of the van to see a file cabinet falling from the sky. "Seriously?"

"You guys might want to step back" Clint says walking around the van, his bow in hand as he places one of his arrows in place. Coulson and Melinda step back before Clint shoot in arrow right above their heads, a rope connected. Once the rope is tied and secure, May and Coulson zipline down to the others.

"Nice shot" Coulson says looking over to Clint who simply nods before turning and walking back to the van.

"He used to be a lot more fun to have on missions." May said with a shake of her head before they all climbed into the van.

Once again Clint found himself pacing outside of their room next to the pool. The others were inside looking over the finding in the cabinet whereas he could care less about what was in it. He didn't come here for some John Garrett take down. And so he was going to do what he really didn't want to do. He dialed a familiar number and placed the phone to his ear.

Tony was standing at the door of Matthew's hospital room watching the young man being helped into a wheelchair.

"I still don't see who would want to leave this place" Tony commented with a shake of his head.

"You wouldn't" Matthew replied. "I'm seriously looking forward to going back to my own place, where there isn't a nurse Nazi watching my every move." he directed that comment to Blair who simply ignored him. "You are an evil woman Blair."

"That evil woman helped you to be able to pee all by yourself again" Tony replied and Matthew sent him a glare. "You should be kissing her feet right now."

"I don't think I would let this man's lips near any part of my body Mr. Stark" Blair replied before giving Matthew a pat on the head.

"I doubt that's the first time he's heard that" Tony said walking over and grabbing the handles of the wheelchair and pushing him out of the room. "This thing is way too slow, why won't you just let me-"

"No Tony, I don't want some motorized wheelchair that shoots lasers and flies" Matthew said before grabbing the wheels and rolling himself. Tony gave Blair a wave before following after Matthew toward the elevator. Once they got on, Matthew looked up to Tony before standing to his feet.

"What are you doing?"

"This was for the evil witch you hired" Matthew said stretching a bit. "Despite popular belief, I really am fine. And since Rinny isn't hear, I expect none of the nagging."

"Hey, as long as you don't fall or bleed on anything I own, do whatever you want" Tony replied before hearing his phone ring. He snagged it from his pocket and saw an unexpected number. "Shit, this can't be good" Tony said before bringing the phone to his ear. "What the fuck did you do and where is my kitten?"

"For the first time in your life Tony, I'm going to need you to just shut up and listen." Clint replied. "When Katie went missing, you knew exactly where to find her. How?"

"Is she missing?" Tony asked before slapping the wall of the elevator. "Jesus fucking Christ bird brain, it hasn't been a week and you've already lost her."

"Tony, right now I'm not in the mood, will you answer my question!" Clint snapped. "Can you find her?"

"Yeah, I can" Tony replied before hanging up the phone. "JARVIS, new plan, I need you to locate Katie's tracking device and send to results to my phone." Tony turned to Matthew who was waiting expectantly for him to explain.

"Is my sister missing again!" Matthew asked and Tony simply nodded. "Oh, I'm going to kill that jackass."

"You're going to have to get in line" Tony says when the doors slide open to his penthouse. They walk off just as a ding sounds from Tony's phone. Looking down to the phone, Tony suddenly stops dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" Matthew asked. "Where is she?"

"Well if the coordinates are right, then I'd say she's about a couple of hours out from Cuba" Tony mutters looking back up to Matthew who looks just as confused as him. "Why the hell would she be in Cuba?"

"If she's smart, getting away from the the dickhead, but seeing as this is my sister I would say she's into something" Matthew replied. "And since there are people trying to kill her, we're going to need to know like now. So what are we doing?"

"There were lots of, "We's" in that sentence" Tony says with a cocked eyebrow. "Sorry, Mr. Feeble Mc. Feebleson, I only roll with the big dogs and I could probably knock you down with a huff and a puff right now." Tony moved to walked toward the elevator, but Matthew placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Look I know technically you're my boss, my landlord and you're letting me crash here for free, but you'll see a whole different side of me if you don't let me in on this" Matthew said seriously and it was a side to the young man that Tony hadn't seen before.

"And how do you plan to help?" Tony asked.

"Well I know a guy who might be able to help." Matthew said and Tony once again quirked an eyebrow. "Well I don't know him, Rinny knows him and she gave me his number to call in like a life death situation and since my sister is headed to a foreign country under unknown circumstances, I'd say this could constitute as one of those situations."

"I have a feeling your sister has come across a lot of people in her life and I'm just not sure I'm ready to go dark alley just yet" Tony replied before bringing his phone to his ear. "Plus I'm loaded and I can get us to Cuba in no time."

"Who's going to Cuba?" a new voice said and both Matthew and Tony turned to see Pepper walking from the bedroom.

"Uh...well I can't tell you?" Tony said, not knowing why he made it sound like a question. He turned to Matthew for help and the young man simply shrugged before turning back to Pepper.

"It has to do with the wedding" Matthew said and Pepper just looked between the men suspiciously. "We were searching for the perfect wedding gift...for you."

"Right!" Tony said now smiling widely. "That's right and you were eavesdropping. Pepper I'm disappointed."

"Sure you are" Pepper said her voice still holding slight suspicion. "Well there will be no going to Cuba today"

"Why not?" both men asked simultaneously.

"Please don't tell me you forgot Tony" Pepper sighs folding her arms over her chest. "We talked about this last night and this morning."

"To be honest I really wasn't paying attention to anything you were saying. I was however enjoying the way you-"

"Tony, my parents!" Pepper snapped. "They're coming into New York today and we're having dinner with them."

"That's right" Tony muttered before turning to Matthew who didn't look too thrilled. Tony turned back to Pepper. "Maybe we could-" Tony saw the quirk of Pepper's eyebrow and knew if he were to even say a word sounding like reschedule, he'd be killed. "I mean sounds like fun honey." Pepper simply shook her head before turning and heading back down the hall.

"Sounds like fun honey" Matthew said before sending a whack to the man's shoulder. "What about Rinny?"

"Will you not hit me, I'm thinking" Tony said closing his eye mentally trying to find a solution to this no win situation. "Shit."

"What?"

"If I leave New York today, I'm not getting married" Tony replied turning back to Matthew.

"Alright, so my sister will die. Great plan. Ok, so go fuck yourself" Matthew snapped before storming toward the elevator.

"JARVIS, hold the elevator" Tony called before following after the man. "I must be one cool boss because you'd be fired right now." Tony grabbed Matthew's shoulder and pushed him to turn to face him. "Look, we're still forgetting the obvious move here."

"And what's that?"

"I could call the bird brain back and have him use whatever connections he still has to find her."

"Or to get her killed." Matthew said turning back to the elevator. "Open the doors JARVIS!"

"Don't do it buddy."

"Look do what you want, but I'm calling this guy" Matthew said taking out his phone and searching through his contacts until he spots the name "Rick"

Katie was moved to a room. One where she didn't have to where any cuffs or chains, but a room with no sign of anything else. She was surrounded by metal walls as she sat with her knees to her chest. Time seemed to easily get away from her as she sat with her eyes closed. But she wouldn't fall asleep. Her father's voice was in her head telling her to stay awake, and to not let her guard down. She stood to her feet when the door swung open and in walked John Garrett. Katie noted that he looked slightly flushed, but he still wore a cocky smile. He was holding a tray with a sandwich and bottle of water sitting on top.

"I brought you something to eat, figured you'd be hungry."

"I would tell you where you could put that tray, but I don't think it would be anything you haven't heard before" Katie said , her back pressed against the wall. She glanced behind him to the door and he followed her eyes.

"I wouldn't try it." Garret said dropping the tray to the floor. "You might get passed me, but you won't get far."

"Why am I here?" Katie asked. "I mean are you pissed I helped take down your cult of crazy bastards, because that was sort of a group effort." he didn't say anything as he slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out the flash drive.

"You didn't look at this yet" he said as fact, not a question. "It's loaded with encrypted files that you would've had no problem taking down. It's strange, I would've guessed you wouldn't be able to wait to see why we were so invested in you and your parents."

"Maybe I didn't want to end up here" Katie replied. "I thought if I ignored it long enough, it would just go away, but here I am, so lets stop the pussy footing around and put the cards on the table. Why the fuck am I here!"

"Your mother" Garrett spoke and that seemed to be the answer she least expected. Katie closed her eyes and turned away. Garrett watched her closely, noticing the change after the mention of her mother. "I think I've hit a nerve." Katie's eyes snapped open and she glared over to the man. "I think you met a couple of friends of mine in a Laundromat." Each word was hitting her like a sack of bricks as pieces to a puzzle began falling into place. "Now my German friend answers to higher power that even I haven't come in contact with, but our goals are all the same. Mommy."

"My mother is dead" Katie said and Garret noticed the slight twitch in her fingers and the darkening of her eyes. She was angry and he was just pushing her buttons.

"Well that's what the death certificates says and that's what a medical examiner said and a bunch of other documents and testimonies, but they're lying and I think if you're honest with yourself, you'd be able to admit it. Your mother's as alive as me and you and I need you to tell me where she is."

"My mother's buried in a cemetery in Denton Montana, right next to my father" Katie spoke her voice growing colder.

"That's what you keep saying, but hell I don't know what it is, but I just don't believe you" Garrett said taking a few steps toward her and Katie pushed herself from the wall. "Did ole Marty ever tell you any stories about mommy." he chuckled to himself as he moved closer to her. "C'mon Chambers, I think you know that there isn't an ounce of a chance of you leaving this room alive if you don't tell me what I need to know."

"I guess today is the day I die" Katie said taking a step closer to the man closing the distance between them. "But you damn well better believe I'm going out fighting." her fists clenched at her side when suddenly the door once again swung open.

"Sir" Ward's voice called, but Garrett never broke eye contact with the woman. It was the look in her eyes that actually intrigued Garrett. It actually made him smile. She had the heart of a soldier, that much he could gather. But he would expect nothing less from the child of Martin Chambers.

"Did you know that your father and I were actually good friends once upon a time" Garrett said and if possible, Katie's eyes darkened even more. "Before he figured out the truth of course, we were friends. Hell, I was even at his wedding to your mother. It was a small ceremony, just a couple of people." Garrett let out a long sigh. "It would actually hurt me to have to hurt you, but I will Chambers, and I'll make every hit, punch and kick count until I get what I want."

"Sir" Ward said again, his voice portraying nothing but warning. Garrett finally turned away from Katie to look to Ward. "A word." Garrett turned back to Katie and gave her a slight nod before turning and walking out the door. The moment the door closed behind him, Garrett collapsed, Ward catching him instantly. "I knew you going in there was a bad idea."

"She would've made the perfect soldier" Garrett said as Ward began helping him walk. "She had promise, and now she's going to have to die."

Coulson and his team, Clint included had long figured that Garrett was headed to Cuba, if not already there. Plus there was a very disgruntle call from Tony verifying their findings. Once they had a location, they were on their way. The flight was long and exhausting, but everyone knew what was at stake. Once the plane landed, there was no time to rest. There was a mission and that's was the main priority. They were unloading the plane when an unexpected guest walked up.

"I can not believe it" Fitz said being the first person to see the new face. He nudged Simmons in her shoulder. "Look whose here" Simmons turned and her eyes went wide.

"What do you think he's doing here?" Simmons whispered as the others turned as well.

"No idea."

"Who is that?" Sky asked totally lost at the moment.

"Agent Mason" Coulson's voice said laced with alight annoyance. "Not that I'm not ecstatic to see you, but what the hell are you doing here?"

"Well I got a call sir" Mason replied slipping off his sunglasses. He turned to see May and Clint walking over, the latter looking none too please. "Agent May, Agent Barton."

"Cut the crap Mason, what the hell are you doing here?" Clint asked, the annoyance clear and blatant.

"Like I said, I got a call and since I wasn't too busy at the moment, I thought I'd take the time out to save the day again."

"Who called you?"

"My good friend Matt" Rick said with a smile before walking around them toward the plane. "He said the dickhead-" he glanced over to Clint. "Which I'm guessing is you, lost our favorite worm, again." Clint took a step, but May caught his arm. "So I thought I would come to help."

"Thanks, but no thanks. Get lost" Clint said.

"Wait" Coulson said and they all looked over to him. "We could use all the help we can get and at the moment any resources are needed resources." Coulson turned to Mason. "You will listen and you will not speak unless spoken to, do you understand Agent Mason."

"Yes sir" Rick replied before turning and climbing on the plane to help unload.

"I think even I might try to kill him." May commented turning to Coulson.

"I guess we will all just have to control our urges." Coulson said looking over to Clint. "And work together. We all want the same thing and we don't get it unless we're all on the same page. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir" Clint replied before going back over to the van to finish retrieving the rest of their supplies.

"Those two never did play well together" May said looking over to Coulson.

"Well now they have shared interests" Coulson replied. "A shared goal is the one thing that puts petty differences aside." Coulson took a step forward. "Alright, everyone gather around." everyone walked over for their directions. "Because we had to fly in low, we have to search for our plane on the ground. Fitz, Simmons, you have the maps. Do not engage under any circumstances. If you find the bus, call us and stand down or come back here and wait." Couslon turned to Clint. "You go with them and if for some reason things get sticky, well unstick them."

"Understood" Clint said tossing his bow and arrow sack over his shoulder. He turned to Leo and Jemma. "Let's go brains." he turned and walked off.

"We still don't like being called that!" Leo commented as he and Jemma followed.

When placed in a situation where there seems to be no way out, one must say "fuck that" and find a way out. Those were Martin Chamber's words verbatim once again playing in Katie's head. She sat in the windowless room staring at the door trying to think up a plan. And that's when it hit her. The only way out was through that door and that door only opened from the outside. She'd have to get someone from the outside to come in. She closed her eyes and stood to her feet as she brought a hand to her throat and began gasping quickly and loudly. She stumbled to the door and began pounding.

"Something's..." she gasped and weezed. "Something's wrong, I can't breathe." she suddenly stopped hitting the door and stepped away dropping to her knees. "Please-" weeze, gasp. "Help me" and with that she fell to the floor.

Two guards standing outside the cell, whose sole purpose was to watch the security footage inside the room, watched in panic at the woman who was lying unconscious on the floor. They shared a look before one of them stood to his feet and rushed to the door. The other stood and quickly followed grabbing his arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing, if she dies on our watch, Garrett will kill us"

"And if we do the one thing we're specially not suppose to do and go into that room, then we're dead."

"Not if the reason we're going in there is to save an asset. You know how important she is."

"You don't even know how important she is. No one knows why she's even on this plane or what Garrett wants with her."

"Well if she's still alive, then it's for a reason."

And with that the guard turned and entered the unlock code to the door, his partner behind him. One of the guards quickly kneels beside her placing a finger on her neck.

"She has a pulse" he said looking to his partner. "I don't know what's wrong?"

"Really, because I do." Katie spoke and the man turned back to her, just as she snatched the side arm from his waist and before jumping to her feet. The other guard took out his gun and shot, but Katie quickly moved behind his partner, using him as a shield. Soon one of the guards was falling to the floor, filled with bullet holes. The perpetrator looked distraught at his partner before bringing angered eyes to Katie. He lifted his gun once again about to shoot, just as Katie lifted the stolen gun. One shot rang in the small room, but only one person was hit.

Jemma and Leo stood hidden as they watched their plane out on the airfield. Their mission was only to watch and not engage, but that was something that was proving difficult.

"I know we're not supposed to engage." Simmons said turning back to look at the plane. " But if they get away, we'll be back to square one. I can't handle square one again." Leo looked over to the plane with his binoculars, spotting a familiar face.

"Garrett's there, which mean's Ward's there." Leo replied.

"Which also mean's there's a good chance that Kat's in there too" a voice spoke and they turned to see Clint. When they arrived, he immediately went to find a good vantage point. The plane was filled with Garrett's men, which meant a rescue mission would be next to impossible. But nothing was truly impossible.

"Coulson said-"

"I know what Coulson said, but if that plane gets away, there's a chance that I may never see her again. That's not happening." Clint replied

"Wait, what if we sent a dwarf into the plane from here?" Jemma suggested, noticing the slight shake of Clint's head. "It's a bug that can stow away inside so we can track where the bus is going. We won't lose her." Clint walked over to the window and looked out the plane. She was right there and he couldn't stand being this close and not being able to go to her.

"We can send sleepy, he's a good listener." Leo added. "I'll go out to the car to get it." Leo turned, but Clint caught his arm.

"How about I go to the car to get it. " Clint said before walking toward the door, but stopping immediately when someone he didn't expect walked in.

"Long time no see guys" Ward greeted looking between his old friends before his eyes landed on Clint. "I should've known you wouldn't be far behind once we took your girlfriend." Clint took a step, but suddenly two more men appeared behind Ward each with a gun aimed right for the archer. "Like I said, I knew you wouldn't be far behind. Well since you're here, might as well come say hi." Leo and Jemma walked over closer to Clint.

"It's alright guys" Clint said not taking his eyes off Ward. "We're gonna be alright." Ward simply chuckled before walking off. "We're gonna be alright." and so they followed.

The smile Ward was wearing soon fell the moment he stepped onto the plane to see everyone running around. He quickly grabbed one of the guard's arm, stopping him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ward asked and the guard simply nudged his head for them to step away from prying ears. Clint watched them closely as they spoke.

"What do you think is going on?" Jemma whispered. She looked up to Clint who was smirking. "What?"

"They can't find Kat" Clint muttered seeing the anger washing over Ward's face. Ward shook his head before walking back over. "Everything alright?" Ward ignored him as the guards pushed them to continue.

Katie pressed her back against the wall, a gun held tightly in her hand. The plane was swarming with Garrett's men, and they all seemed to be looking for her. She looked up and spotted a door, and at the moment she needed a place to hideout until she could figure out her next move. Inside was one of the control centers. Katie placed the gun aside and quickly began typing. There was commotion outside, and she turned toward the door.

"Let us go!" a familiar voice called.

"No" Katie whispered before grabbing the gun and moving toward the door. She pried open the door slightly and peeked outside just in time to see Leo and Jemma being pushed down the hall. "Shit." Without thinking Katie swung open the door and walked out, making sure her gun was held high. "Let them go you bastards!"

"Katie!" Jemma said about to go over to the woman, but one of the guards grabbed her.

"I think you should know, I'm ten shades of pissed right now and have a good vantage point to shoot you and your partner here before either one of you could even tell me your name."

"Listen bitch-" before the man could even finish his sentence, Katie had already pulled the trigger, sending a bullet right on the side of his neck. He released Jemma, stumbling back as he held his bleeding neck. Katie turned to the man holding Leo.

"Your turn." the man holding Leo was visibly nervous, shaking even. "Let him go." he hesitated for a moment before pushing Leo away and turning and running. Jemma and Leo ran to hug Katie. "We have to find a way out of here."

"We can't" Jemma said pulling back. "We-"

"I want to just kill you" a voice said and they all turned to see Ward stalking over to them angrily. "I want to just kill you and rid the world of your every growing tendency to be a pain in my ass." Katie pushed Leo and Jemma behind her and held up the gun. "Because then, I think despite what's happening, the world would be a better place."

"I think you've confused you with me in that sentence Ward." Katie replied. "We want off this plane."

"Sure, whatever you want." he said before taking a step, and just that quickly Katie had pulled the trigger, a bullet grazing the side of his cheek. The man grunted as he took a couple of steps back.

"You see that was what you called restraint, because a couple of more inches and I could've rid the world of one more psychotic HYDRA member."

"You also could've rid the world of your boyfriend" Ward said lifting his eyes back to her. "I take it from the look on your face that Pip and Dip here haven't told you yet." Katie looked between Jemma and Leo before turning back to Ward.

"What is he talking about?" Katie asked feeling her heart pounding in her chest. "Where's Bart?"

"Aww, how sweet. You still use that little nickname" Ward replied reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tablet. He swiped a couple of times before turning so Katie could see. Katie looked upon the screen to see what looked like a live video feed of Clint bound and gagged with the barrel of a gun to his head. "Put down the gun Kate, because I think we both know you're not going to use it. Not if you ever want to see Barton again."

"Fine" Katie said still gripping the gun she had pointed at him. "One condition, you want me, you let all of them go."

"What are you doing?" Leo whispered. "We're not leaving you"

"Yes you are" Katie said looking over to him and giving him a look to show that she knew what she was doing. She turned back to Ward who simply shook his head. "That's my terms."

"You think you have the upper hand here?"

"I think you and your messed band of brothers really want to know where my mother is and at the moment I'm the only key you have. Let them go and I tell you everything you want to know."

"I wish I could believe that" Ward replied just as two heavily armed men walked up behind him. "But I think I have more leverage. Because you see even though the great mind of the infamous Sparrow is a very intricate place, there are times when it's predictable. And your friends, your Bart, they're your weakness. And I know your daddy taught you about weaknesses." Katie stared at him for a while, long and hard.

"Alright." She said with a nod as she stretched her neck. "Guys, run!"

"What-"

"Now!" she ordered and without anymore questions, Leo and Jemma turned and hauled ass.

"Get them" Ward ordered and the armed men began running toward Katie, without hesitation, she pulled the trigger. Only twice. One bullet hitting one of the men in the foot, knocking him down. The other shot the man in the knee. He was also down for the count. All that was left was her and Ward.

"My daddy taught me a whole lot" Katie growled through clench teeth. "I think it's time for that fight I might not win." and without a second thought Katie went running toward the man at full speed.

* * *

**A/N: I know you really wanted to see that fight, right?. Well we're winding down the whole Agent's of Shield thing I have going on here and after that I'm going to take a bit of a break. Just at least until I can map out the rest of the story. But I already know what the last scene before this hiatus is going to be and it's going to be mind blowingly awesome. I seriously can't wait to write it. **

***Catch you later* **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I'm back and here it is people. This will be our last chapter for a while. There will be twists and turns in this chapter that you will not expect. And by the end you will be looking at your computer screen, tablet or phone with a look of utter bewilderment. So...**

**Really Read it. Really Enjoy it. And Really, pretty please, Review it.**

* * *

Punch, kick, scratch and bite. Was it dirty? Hell, maybe, but if you were still breathing afterwards, then who cares?

Katie and Ward were rolling around on the floor, each getting a couple of jabs in. The strength difference was evident in every punch Ward threw versus her own, but she didn't stop and she definitely didn't plan to give up now. Grant had knocked her on her back and was now straddling her waist, pinning her arms above her head.

"You're feisty Kate, I give you that" he huffed through his jagged breath. "Too bad-" Katie kicked a knee up, hitting the man right in the groin. He groaned rolling off of her, falling on his back as he held his sore privates.

"Too bad you talk to much" Katie said pushing herself to her feet. She reached for her discarded gun fully prepared to do what she should've done so long ago, but as soon as she did felt a sharp prick right in the back of her shoulder blade. She turned around just in time to see the blurry figure of John Garrett.

"Sorry sweetheart, we're on a tight schedule." Garrett said. Those were the last words she heard before the darkness overcame her. Garrett looked over to Ward who still lied on his back in pain. "I'm not even gonna say how disappointed I am in you" the man shook his head.

"Sir-"

"Get up and find the other two before my plans are totally destroyed!" Garrett ordered and without hesitation Ward jumped to his feet, despite the pain and ran in search of Leo and Jemma. Garrett glanced back down to Katie before kneeling down and brushing a finger across her cheek. "I think I still want you. You're just too good to waste."

_The wind was tickling her cheeks so much that she couldn't do anything not to smile. A young Katie skipped through the wild flowers happily. She'd never been anywhere so big. All she wanted to do was run around. _

"_There is no other way!" she heard her father yell and Katie instantly stopped and turned to see him and the lady talking, but neither looked happy. "Do you know what we're doing, this plan, it's- " _

"_I know!" the lady snapped. "I know what this does to us and what it does to her, but that does not mean that she can't have a chance. A chance at a real life." _

"_They won't let that happen and you know it. They're not going to stop and she's going to have to be prepared and it is going to be my job to do it." _

_The woman turned and looked to Katie and it was then that the young girl noticed the tears falling down the lady's cheeks. Not knowing what else to do, Katie ran over and wrapped her arms around the lady's legs. _

"_Don't cry." Katie whispered and that seemed to make the lady cry more. The woman knelt down and wrapped her arms around the young girl's small frame, pressing a kiss to her cheek. _

"_I love you, know I love you more than anything in this world" the lady said before pulling back so her eyes were on the young girls. "I know this makes no sense to you now, and you probably think mommy's being silly, but if you know nothing else, know that everything mommy and daddy will ever do, what we've ever done had been because we love you and we wish more than anything for you to have the perfect life that you deserve." She pressed another kiss to Katie's cheek before pulling her into another tight hug. The sound of a car horn, made the woman cry even more. _

"_Cindy" Martin said, but the woman didn't let go. She continued to hug the girl, not wanting what was about to happen, to happen. "Cynthia, it's time" _

"_I can't do it Martin" Cynthia sobbed as she picked the small child in her arms and turned to Martin. "Don't make me do it, don't make me leave her." Martin dropped his head, the emotions inside of him fighting with each other, but he kept it together, like he was taught. _

"_Remember, this is for her." Martin said placing a hand on the woman's cheek. "Sometimes pain is necessary for us to move forward." Cythina stared at him long and hard as he asked her to do something that felt worse than cutting her own heart out. "I will take care of her, but you can't-" he shook his head. "You've been here too long, and cold trails can get hot and they can't find you. You know that." the woman simply nuzzled the young girl's hair as she gently rubbed her back. The sound of a horn honking once again brought the woman back to reality, back to this moment. "Cin, it's time." _

Katie's eyes opened, but the moment they did, she almost wished they didn't. The light hurt, and she quickly closed her them hoping that would help. Only moments later did a sudden realization hit her. Something wasn't right. With her. She couldn't explain it, but something felt off inside of her. She once again opened her eyes and that's when she noticed how it was gone. The focus, she'd tried so hard to hold onto was gone. She blinked a couple of times, hoping, no praying that it would come back to her, but it didn't. Her eyes drifted downward and that's when she saw the clamps over her wrists. They were attached to the chair she was sitting in. She pulled at them weakly, barely moving them. She felt the same on her ankles as she tried to move them only to realize she couldn't.

"You know we had to rack our brain with this one" a voice said, for some reason sounding louder than it should. "We've put you in scenario after scenario and you've found a way to escape each time." Ward's face appeared in front of her, his scarred and battered face holding a smile she wishes she could wipe off. "Then Garrett came up with this brilliant idea. I mean we tried tying you up and locking you in a room. We were trying to bind you physically, but the truth is as long as those neurons are still swirling around in that noggin of yours, you would always be a threat. And that's what we had to change."

"What did you do to me?" Katie said, her voice heavily slurred. She continued blinking, hoping at some point whatever was happening to her would just go away.

"Well since you're not working with a full deck at the moment, I'm going to keep it simple. I've taken away your spark Sparrow. That brain of yours was the only true weapon you had and now thanks to a simple injection, you no longer have that." he walked over and knelt down so he could meet her glazed eyes. "Get comfy Kate, because this is the state you're going to be in until we need you." and with that he stood up straight and walked out of the room, leaving Katie in her state of what could only be described as utter delirium."

There was an annoying piano playing in the background of the restaurant Tony currently found himself. He'd been there for nearly a half and hour with Pepper and her parents engaged in wedding talk. At times he wondered if they could see that he wanted to be anywhere else. His phone was sitting in front of him and he couldn't stop glancing over to it every chance he got.

"Tony!" Pepper's voice nearly yelled tearing him from his head. He looked up to her to see an expectant look on her face. Did she ask him something?

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" Tony asked and he noticed the slight look of concern pass along her features.

"Where are you tonight?" She asked and he simply shook his head.

"I"m here, I'm here" he replied plastering on a smile before turning to Pepper's parents. "Have I told you what a wonderful daughter you've raised. Honestly I don't know what I would do without her."

"Well I'm glad to hear you say that" Pepper's father replied. "The only thing I ever wanted for my little Virgie was to one day find a man who would love her the way she deserves to be loved." the man smiled over to his daughter. "And my little girl deserves nothing but the best."

"Oh, daddy" Pepper coos before smiling over to Tony. He smiles over to her when his phone suddenly beeps and as if a fire had erupted in his pants the man had jumped to his feet. "Tony, what's wrong?"

"I've just been expecting this call."

"Well can it wait, we're at dinner."

"I know, I promise to keep it quick" Tony replied before grabbing his phone and heading for the door before she could even say another word. "Barton!"

_"No, it's me_" Matthew answered. "_So I'm guessing you haven't heard anything either?"_

"No, look I'm sure-"

_"Don't say you're sure of anything, because you're not!"_ Matthew snapped.

"No, I'm not and it's taking everything inside of me to not jump on a plane and go find her, but I can't!" Tony snapped. "I have to believe that she wouldn't get somewhere without being able to get out of it."

"_And I want to believe that my sister isn't in danger right now, because whether you believe it or not, there is a chance she won't make it. And I assumed since all of you did some sort of secret handshake to be the Avengers, that in the event that one of you needed help then the rest would be there. Especially since...since if the tables were turned, she would be there for you. Hell, a couple of years ago she was. You don't want to help my sister, fine. I will do it myself." And with that the young man hung up._

"Matt!" Tony yelled after hearing click of the call ending. "Matt!"

"Tony!" Pepper's voice yelled and Tony turned to see the woman standing by the door looking over to him, totally confused. "Will you tell me what is going on?" Tony opened his mouth fully prepared to tell her that he needed to go, but before he could even speak a new voice interrupted.

"I'm sorry" Tony and Pepper turned to see Maria Hill walking over, her cell phone in hand. "I knew you guys were having dinner and I really needed to speak to Tony." Hill looked over to Tony and he simply nodded.

"Yeah, apparently congress is really pushing for access to our files, spouting some crap about National Security after this whole HYDRA thing. " Tony said before looking over to Maria. "She just thought it might be a good idea to get the lawyers up and running to nip this thing in the bud." Pepper looked between Tony and Maria.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I would run some things by Tony, but if now is a bad time-"

"No" Pepper interrupted. "If it's important than it's fine." She turned back to Tony and placed a kiss on his cheek. "We'll be inside waiting for you," Tony nodded before watching the woman turned and walk back into the restaurant. Once he couldn't see her, he turned to Maria.

"Agent Hill" Tony greeted as the two walked over to each other. "This is a surprise. What are you doing here."

"Well I am here to come up with a plan for this whole congress thing, but I figured at this point you'd be aware of the whole Sparrow issue."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Well I guess thanks to your little tracking device, her location is known."

"But?"

"But I believe a retrieval plan is still in the works." Maria saw the disappointment in his eyes as he shook his head. "Whatever you're thinking, just don't." He looked back over to her with a raised eyebrow. "That's also why I'm here. You need to stay here. There is already a team working tirelessly to help Barton find Sparrow, but you going there-"

"Will show how incompetent this team is who haven't found a way to save her yet?" Tony asked with huff.

"No, you being there draws attention and you more than anyone is being watched like a hawk." Maria replied glancing over her shoulder. They were practically obvious. The agents planted to look like civilians moving about the street around them. "Plus you risk so much more if you go looking to play the hero. She already has one of those and I'm guessing he's doing everything possible to get her to safety, if that's needed."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, Sparrow is rarely one who chooses to play the damsel in distress. So right now I'm asking you to put your faith in people who want her safe just as much as you do."

"I doubt anyone wants her safe more than I do" Tony muttered turning away from the woman. "Forty eight hours." he looked back to Maria with a look so serious that it cause even her to stand a little straighter. "I hear her voice in forty eight hours or me and whoever is following me are going to get her. Do you understand?"

"Yes" Maria said stuffing her hands in her pockets and giving him a nod.

"I think you should know I'm not the only one you should worry about. Matthew he's-" Tony shook his head. "He's worried and I think we're about to see a whole different side to him."

"It's being taken care of." Maria replied simply.

Matthew rushed through his apartment, tossing things into a duffel bag, his phone held between his shoulder and ear.

"Yeah, no that's perfect. I should be there in twenty. Thank you, you have no idea how much you're helping me right now." Matthew said before hanging up the phone and looking down to it for only a second before tossing it on the coffee table. He turned and headed for the door before pulling it open only to stop before even stepping out. "Ninja lady, didn't expect to see you here."

"Well I got word that some stupid bastard was about to go off and make a lot of noise that we can't afford to have." Natasha said before taking a step forward causing Matthew to take a step back. She slammed the door behind her.

"Didn't we do this dance already. I could've sworn it ended with you landing on that sweet ass of yours." Matthew said and Natasha smirked. "I think you should know that nothing is standing in the way of me getting to my sister."

"And I think you should know that I'm the one thing that's going to make that statement a lie" Natasha replied..

"Don't do this, because this takes time I just don't have."

"Too bad, because if you want to play this game then you're going to have to prove that you can take the punches that are coming your way. Your sister is currently in the custody of highly trained and some genetically modified soldiers who would have no probably breaking you in half."

"Is that supposed to convince me to stay?"

"No, it's supposed to convince you that this fight you're itching to be apart of won't be a fight. You see a fight is something that occurs between two equally matched individuals. You going in there isn't a fight, it's a joke."

"You underestimate me ninja lady" Matthew says taking a dangerous step closer to the woman, closing the distance between them. "That could be the biggest mistake you could do. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"I think I do Special Agent Black."

"How-"

"Because even though SHIELD is gone, doesn't mean intelligence just stops. Your sister-"

"My sister is the only thing I have left, so spare me." he moved to go around her, but she moved to block him.

"Your sister is not in danger."

"Bullshit" Matthew scoffed. "My sister hasn't returned a single call I've made to her. That only happens when she's in danger. So give me something else."

"Fine, your sister is probably the unsafest person in the world right now, but what I am sure about is that she is alive. And as long as she is alive, she will continue to fight. You going on some shit to the wind mission to save her will only make things a lot harder for a lot of people." Matthew didn't say anything. Natasha watched him, knowing he was probably weighing his options. He turned back to her before tossing his duffel bag on the floor. "Smart choice." she turned and headed for the door.

"Wait!" he called after her and she stopped and turned back to him. "Agent Black is dead, has been for a while now and that's the way it stays."

"Who am I to raise the dead?" Natasha replied with a slight smirk. "Your secret is safe with me. I'm just not sure how long it'll last. Your sister's really good at figuring out puzzles."

"She's known me practically my whole life and never suspected anything. I'm just her screw up little brother who she found living in the basement of strangers. That's it."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Secrets never stay hidden for long." And with that Natasha turned and walked out of the apartment.

Clint had been moved from room to room , a barrel pointed at his face at all times, but it was nothing he couldn't get out of. He'd already thought of an escape plan, but he did nothing until he knew where Katie was. The plane slightly shakes, and Clint look to the window to see land.

"Agent Barton!" John Garrett says annoyingly happily as he strides into the room. Clint noticed before how the man's whole demeanor had change. At one point he seemed like he was getting weak, slower and then the next he seemed to be given a new breath of life. He was stronger and it showed. "I know you're probably wondering why you haven't been killed yet, and it's a really good question." Garrett walked over to the archer. "You're my bargaining chip. You see Sparrow won't whistle a tune unless she has some...motivation. You're going to be that. And while you're in our custody, some friends of mine are going to poke around that head of yours. I mean a living victim of Loki's mind fucking is like hitting the jackpot. I'm actually kind of disappointed Fury didn't do more with that, but hey there's no time like the present." Garret looked to the guards standing behind Clint. "There are men waiting outside, they'll show you where you can hold him." One of the guards grabbed Clint's arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Where is she, you son of a bitch!" Clint snapped trying to pull free, but the guard held him back.

"Oh, Agent Barton, our dear Sparrow is some place nice and safe." Garrett said adding a slight chuckle that only made Clint feel uneasy. "Get him out of here." and with that Clint was moved off of the plane. The moment his feet touched land, his eyes went to the building standing in front of him and the giant letters reading, "CYBERTECK" sitting high.

She was being wheeled somewhere. That was the only thought in Katie's head. At the moment, only one thought at a time seemed to be all that she could accomplish. She'd been moved from the chair to some sort of gurney, where she was once again strapped down at her wrists and ankles. Her eyes were barely opened as she looked up to the faceless people who were moving above her, until it seemed all at once they were just gone. Katie laid there alone, unsure of pretty much everything at the moment. Something moved and she noticed it out the corner of her eye. She turned slightly and saw something move again, but it was too blurry to see it clearly.

"Who...who's there?" she managed to speak. Whoever it was, moved closer to her until they were standing right above her. She blinked in hopes to make everything clearer. She didn't expect it to work, but after a couple of times soon it was clear. She saw him as clear as day standing above her, smiling. "Daddy?"

"_Hey there darlin" Martin spoke. He looked around the room before looking back down to Katie. "It looks like you've gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle." _

"Understatement." Katie muttered.

"_So how do you plan on getting out of it?" he asked. _

Coulson and his team had their plan in motion. They'd went to Cuba and found Garrett's Havana hideout where they were attacked by super soldiers. They weren't a match and after Skye retrieved the information needed from the hideout's computer, they were back on their plane.

"The trojan horse worked. It gave us access to the system we wanted." Skye said looking down to her computer. "Our secret weapon ... we now have eyes on their operation right in the palm of my hand."

"We'll need more than eyes to defeat Garrett" Tripplet said as May patched up his shoulder that was wounded in the fight with the super soldiers. There was a beeping sound and they all turned to see a somber looking Coulson walking toward them.

"What's wrong?"

"Fitz-Simmons' tracker crossed the ocean." Coulson says. "It's in New Mexico."

"They managed to tag the plane?" Skye asked.

"It appears so, but they're not answering." Coulson replied.

"Shit!" Rick snaps before punching a nearby wall.

"No" Skye says the thought that Jemma and Leo could be dead too much for her to handle at the moment.

"We can't think like that right now" Coulson said.

"When should we think about it!" Mason snapped and they all turned to him. "You should've sent me, not Barton to surveil that damn plane. He's too emotional right now and it got the best of him."

"We don't know what the circumstances were-"

"It doesn't matter what the circumstances were because he should've planned for them all and you know that!" Mason almost growled.

"Hey!" May said taking a step in front of the man. "Right now we know nothing so there will be no overreacting on a limited amount of information."

"May's right. Fitz and Simmons risked a lot getting those trackers for us" Coulson said. "Now we know exactly where Garrett is, and Skye can see what he's doing. If Fitz, Simmons and Barton are still alive, then the mission's the same. We want to find them, we want to find Sparrow, then we find Garrett." he looked over May. "We need this plane in the air, now." She nodded before heading back to the cockpit. There was a beep that came from Skye's computer and they turned to her. "What is it?"

"I don't know, it seems to be some distress signal" Skye replied as she began tying away. "Oh my God" she looked up to Coulson. "It's from Katie." Coulson quickly moved to the woman's side and looked down to her screen. "The time stamp on the message seems to be hours ago, I don't know why I'm getting it now."

"What does it say?" Coulson asked and Skye looked back down to her computer.

"Wait, it's-" Skye leans in closer to the screen. "It was made to look like a distress signal, but it's actually an embedded Trojan horse." she types a few more keys and her eyes widen. "It leads to the Bus's mainframe." Skye lifts her eyes back to Coulson. "We have their intel right here. Coulson this could change everything, if we know what they're planning-"

"Stopping it will be that much easier." Coulson said before looking over to Mason who still didn't look happy. "This is good, this gets us closer."

"It all gets us closer, sir" Mason replied defiantly. "Just never close enough."

Katie looked up to the obvious illusion created from whatever drugs Garrett had given her. But illusion or not, she still smiled.

"Hi daddy."

"_Oh, darlin', you have to get out of here." _

"I can't" she said with a shake of her head. "There's no way out of this."

"_Now I know I taught you better." Martin said bringing his face closer to hers. "What did I say about a no win situation?" Katie closed her eyes tight. "What did I say!" _

"There is no such thing-"

"_Louder!" _

"There is now such thing as a no win situation!" Katie said her voice going to a level she didn't know she could achieve at the moment. "I can win at anything I put my mind to!"

"_That's right, now open your eyes." Katie complied and he was still there. "How do you get out of this?" Katie drowsily turned her head trying to get a good look at everything around her. "C'mon darlin' , pay attention. The answer is somewhere, now find it!" _

"I'm trying, I'm-" and there it was. A medical tray, which held an array of medical tools right next to her bed.

"_That's it" Martin's voice spoke suddenly appearing behind the tray. His eyes on the scalpel, Katie too had noticed. He suddenly looked back over to her. "No time to dally, act first, think later." he once again appeared over her. "Move!" _

Clint was walking down the hall of the building, two guards behind him and two in front. All had a gun, but only two were pointed at him at the moment. He finally got to the moment where he couldn't play the captive any longer. If he was here, then he was sure Katie was somewhere nearby.

Suddenly Clint tripped, the wall beside him catching him before he could hit the floor. He stopped closing his eyes as his head rested on the wall.

"Keep moving!" One of the guards snapped giving him a push. It wasn't a very forceful push, but it somehow knocked him on the floor. The guards each shared a look before looking down to the man who laid there seamlessly unconscious.

"What the-" one of the guards stepped forward and the moment he did Clint kicked out a leg causing the man to fall to the ground, his gun firing a few unintentional shots that distracted the other guards long enough for him to jump to his feet, leaning his arms as low as necessary for him to jump over them and bring his hands in front of him. There was no time to stop and think because the moment his hands were in front of him, the other three guards were already pointing their guns at him. Clint looked down to his foot to see the unconscious guard and his discarded gun. With a slight kick of his foot the gun went flying up in the air, high enough for him to catch it and shoot two of the guards. The third had him. Gun aimed and with the pull of the trigger, he'd be gone. There was a gun shot and Clint closed his eyes. After a few moments he heard a loud thump and opened his eyes to see the guard falling to the floor, a bullet hole in the back of his head. Clint lifted his eyes and there standing at the end of the hall was Rick freaking Mason.

"Aw honey, you don't look happy too see me" Rick said walking down the hall toward Clint who bent down to grab the keys to the cuffs. Once his wrists were free he looked to Mason who was still looking to him.

"What?"

"I just save your life and you can't even muster up a 'thank you'?" Mason asked and Clint simply grabbed one of the guards discarded guns and walked around the man. "There's no shortage on ungrateful people!" Mason groaned as he turned and followed after him. "I hope worm will have a little more manners when I find her." l

Soon Clint and Rick were running down the unfamiliar halls of Cyberteck, guns in hands. They only stopped when they came to a door that was slightly ajar. Clint pushed it open, making sure to keep the gun aimed. They walked inside to see a gurney turned over on the floor, but that's not what caught their eyes. It was the slight specks of blood that made Clint's heart start to race.

"God, Kat where are you?" Clint asked when the sound of gun fire pulled him from his thoughts.

"Looks like the party's started" Rick says and Clint turns to him. "Find her, I'll go back up Trip" Clint nods before doing the only thing he could think of doing. He ran and he was going to keep running until he found her.

Katie walked down the halls of the building, dragging herself along the wall as she keeps a towel pressed against her bleeding hands. The effects from the drugs seemed to be wearing off, but slowly and focusing was still a hard task to complete. She stopped and closed her eyes as the sound of gunfire sounded from somewhere around her.

_"There's no time to stop"_ a voice said and Katie opened her eyes to once again see her father's smiling face. "_You got to get out of here._" And so Katie's feet were once again moving. She didn't plan on stopping. Right now her only goal was to get out of here, but then she heard a familiar voice and she couldn't help but stop.

"When was the last time anyone saw a tag-team wrestling match with four dead guys?" John Garrett's voice said, a hint of amusement laced in every word. She was about to keep moving, but then she heard another voice.

"I only see one dead guy in here" She heard Coulson's voice speak. Katie dragged herself through the door, immediately seeing body on the floor. She bent down and grabbed the man's side arm and gripped as she kept moving.

"Oh, the power's all on this side of the room, fellas." Garrett replied and Katie stepped from behind a silo to see the man standing next to the man from before. Peterson she thinks he was called, in front of Coulson and the last person she expected to see. Nick Fury. " Phil, I'm surprised you'd try and stop course, I don't blame you, Nick. You haven't seen the big picture, the big bang, the timeless frozen ocean, but Phil here has. We share a bond. We're blood brothers." Nick looks at Garrett for a long moment before turning to Coulson.

"You didn't tell me he'd gone this crazy!" Fury says looking over to Coulson.

"He's really turned it up a notch" Coulson replied.

"I think that's putting it lightly" Katie said and they all turned to her to see he moving over to them, slightly slowly.

"Are you alright?" Coulson asked and Katie lifted her head sluggishly, but gave a smile.

"I'll be better once I'm out of here" Katie replies before turning back to Garrett. "I'll probably do a little jig once this son of a bitch is dead."

"Oh sweetheart I had so much planned for us" Garrett replied with a sadistic smile. "I could've made you great. I could've made you better than great." he looked over to Fury. "You remember that speech you used to give us, Nick, about how one man can accomplish anything once he realizes he can be something bigger?" Fury just gave him an annoyed look as he shook his head. "Well I am-"

"Wait, isn't it 'a part' of something bigger" Katie interrupted sensing her brain cells were slowly but surely coming back to her. She looked over to Nick and Coulson. "I remember because that was one of the only speeches I actually liked." she turned back to Garrett.

"Is that how it went?" Garrett asked.

"Not a good listener" Coulson mutters.

"If you tell me this whole HYDRA path thing you took is because you misheard my damn "one man" speech..."

"I am the key to the universe-"

"You got it, right?" Fury interrupted as he looked to Coulson.

"Totally" Coulson says with a nod. Fury looks over to Katie who simply shook her head.

"Like I said, one of the few speeches I like and listened to. I understood" Katie said as they all turned to Garrett. Katie looked down to her hand as it slightly shook. She stopped hearing the words around her and looked up to see Garrett's smiling face. The only peace she found was when Peterson lifted the missile launcher toward Garrett. There was a smile on her face when she saw the man shot and tossed to the ground. It made what was going to happen next that much easier. She could feel it, totally out of the blue. Everything slowing down and getting darker. Arms wrapped around her from behind and she turned just in time to see familiar green eyes staring back at her. It was that moment that Katie truly felt safe enough to give in to the needs of her body and just pass out.

_Cynthia held on tight to the young child in her arms as they walked around the house to see the black SUV parked out front. _

"_Cindy, the longer you drag this out the harder it will be" Martin says and she turns a glare to him. _

"_It doesn't matter how quickly we do this, it will always be hard" Cynthia replied before pressing a kiss to Katie's head before handing her off to Martin. "You better take care of her." _

"_You know I will" Martin says before leaning forward an placing a gentle kiss to the woman's cheek. "I love you." _

"_I love you too" she replies placing a hand on his cheek. She looks back down to her daughter and feels more tears threatening to fall if she doesn't leave soon. "This is killing me." she meets Martin's eyes once more. "Goodbye my loves." she gave one final look to her daughter before turning and stepping into the backseat of the SUV. Martin and his daughter stood there and watched as the SUV got farther and farther away until it was just gone. _

_A young Katie lifted her head from her father's shoulder and looked at him in the eyes. _

"_Don't be sad daddy. She be back." _

"_No, she won't darlin'" Martin says before placing a kiss to her temple. "She won't be back." _

Katie's eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up, trying desperately to catch her breath as the fading memory of her dream played in her head. Clint was by her side instantly.

"Hey, you're alright" Clint said wrapping his arms around her. "I'm right here. You're safe now." Katie placed her hands on the sides of Clint's face and brought her forehead to rest against his. She could feel her heart slowing. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Unfortunately, yes" Katie replies. "Garrett?"

"Dead" Clint answers.

"Ward?"

"In custody, along with Garrett's super soldiers. They're all being deprogrammed." Clint says pulling back to look in her eyes. "How do you feel?"

"Tired" Katie replied. "What happened to me?"

"They injected you with a tranquilizer. Something Garrett cooked up to interrogate his targets. As it worked it's way out of your system, your body began to react, which is why you passed out. But it's out of your system now." Katie dropped her head and Clint could tell something else was wrong. "What?"

"Not that I'm not happy that Garrett is no longer a cancer to our planet, but I would've liked to ask him a couple of questions." Katie said. "The guys from New York, the Germans from the Laundromat, they're HYDRA. Garrett knew them. At some point during this twisted trip, he was going to question me about my mother." Clint looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"Doesn't matter now, because it's over. Garrett's dead."

"Bart-"

Katie was interrupted by the door sliding open and in walking the familiar face of Nick Fury. Clint turns, never taking his arm from around Katie.

"Sir."

"Barton." Fury says before turning to Katie." I was hoping to have a word with Ms. Chambers."

"I don't think that's a good idea" Clint says and Katie turns to him. It was rare to see Clint reject authority, especially from Nick Fury, but here he was. "She needs rest and-"

"Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of him" Katie said interrupting Clint.

"Fair enough." Fury said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the flash drive. "I found this on Garrett." he handed it to Katie who simply took it and looked at it for a moment. "I would advise you to keep that safe. There's very sensitive information on there that shouldn't get into the wrong hands." Katie nodded before Nick turned to leave.

"Wait!" Katie said before climbing out of the bed and standing to her feet. "That can't be it."

"I'm sorry?"

"I know you know what's been happening. My mother who I, along with the rest of the world, was made to believe is dead has somehow created a following, even after death." Katie said.

"I don't know what you're asking me."

"My mother, is she still alive."

"All records on one Cynthia Chambers note her as being deceased."

"That's not what I asked you."

"But that's all I have." Fury replied. "But you have that" he pointed to the flash drive in her hand. "Use it." And with that the man turned and walked out of the room. Katie stood there for a moment before turning to Clint who looked obviously confused.

"What's on the flash?" Clint asked and Katie looked down to it and shrugged.

"No idea." she replied before slipping it in her pocket. "I'm not sure if I want to find out."

It was late when Coulson had the plane make a stop. They landed just outside of Florida. Fury had long gone, disappearing for what many assumed would be a long while. There was a car waiting for them. It wasn't fancy or anything, but it wouldn't draw any attention and at the moment that made it perfect. Clint had finished packing their things in the trunk when he walked over to Katie who was saying her goodbyes. She was currently hugging May who looked slightly uncomfortable, but didn't pull away.

"Oh Mellie, it's been fun" Katie said as they pulled away.

"Fun?" May asked with a quirked eyebrow. "I forgot you were the weird one." Katie simply smiled before turning to see Skye.

"You got my signal" Katie said and Skye nodded. "Not a lot of people would've decrypted something as sloppy as that"

"You say sloppy, I say brilliant" Sky says with a smiled before holding out her hand for Katie to shake.

"You know after these couple of days, I think we've sort of moved to the hugging stage" Katie said before bringing the woman into a hug. "Thank you for your help."

"I was just repaying the favor" Skye replied as they pulled apart.

"Make sure you keep me up to date with what's happening with Leo and Jemma." Katie said and Skye nodded. Katie looked to Triplet who simply shook his head. "What?"

"Before I met you, I had this idea of what you would be like in reality." The man said.

"And?"

"You're kind of better." he said and they just laughed. They slapped hands and pulled together in a hug.

"Am I going to have to wait until morning for my hug or should I just camp out here?" a voice said and Katie turned to look to Rick.

"You were supposed to ride off into the sunset with our former deceased leader" Katie said moving to stand in front of him.

"Well maybe I wanted my recognition for my part in saving the day" Rick said folding his arms over his chest. "I have of yet to hear a thank you and I don't appre-" Katie slapped a hand over his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Thank You Ricky" Katie said before dropping her hand. He simply smiled.

"You're welcome worm" Rick said before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a bear hug, even slightly lifting her off the ground.

"That's enough!" Clint called and Rick chuckled before placing Katie back on her feet and smiling over to the man.

"I'm gonna miss you too Hawk!" Rick called before turning to Coulson and giving him a nod. And with out another word, the man went walking off disappearing into the darkness.

"I'm not sure how he survived this mission" Coulson said. "I came this close to shooting him myself at least three times."

"I think I have you beat" May said before turning and walking back on the plane. Skye and Trip followed her, leaving Coulson, Katie and Clint. Clint gave Coulson a nod before getting into the car to give them some privacy.

"You sure you're alright?" Coulson asked and Katie nodded. "Because if you're not, you can-"

"I'm fine. A little purple and blue, but who isn't these days?" Coulson shook his head before letting his eyes fall back to her. "You're thinking about something director Coulson." the man smiled. He hadn't formally announced his new position, but did feel the need to tell her before she left. "What's up?"

"You were right, and I didn't listen"

"Don't" Katie said reaching out and grabbing his hand. "I was lucky. I saw a millions pieces to a puzzle that I couldn't get to fit together and so I took a wild guess at what the big picture was."

"You still were right." Coulson replied before bringing his arms around her. "Whether you know it or not, what you did saved a lot of lives. I just wished I would've believed you."

"Shoulda, woulda, couldas are in the past now" Katie said before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Now we focus on the future."

"Speaking of the future" Coulson said as they pulled from the hug. "Rebuilding SHIELD is going to be a lot of work. I may need you."

"You may not. You have a capable team in there. People who are all brilliant in their own right." she looked over her shoulder to the car. "Plus I think this is a chance we should at least take advantage of. A life. One without SHIELD or or Agents, or the Avengers for a while." Katie smiled as she brought her eyes back to Coulson.

"So what you're saying is you guys really need a vacation?" Coulson asked and Katie just nodded.

"But you know we're not ones to turn down a request for help. You need me, us, then we will be there."

"Alright" Coulson pulled her into another hug.

"Two hugs in the span of a couple of minutes" Katie said hugging him back. "You're really gonna miss me, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I really am" Coulson whispered. "You should be careful."

"Oh I will and if I'm not I always have a hawk on my ass" Katie said with a slight laugh. She pressed a kiss to the man's cheek before turning and heading for the car.

"Stay out of trouble!" Coulson called after her. Katie simply looked back to him and gave him a wink before stepping into the car.

They soon ended up on a road with no intended destination. Katie found herself tucked under Clint's arm, her head resting comfortably on his chest.

"So any ideas for where you would like to go?" Clint asked and Katie glanced up to him.

"Not really. I think I'll be good anywhere I can find a Clint Barton." Clint smiled down to her before placing a kiss to the top of her head. "And a beach."

"Alright."

"It's not a must or anything, but a beach would really be good"

"I get it Kat."

"I mean any place would be good, but I would really like a beach."

"Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop talking."

"Fine" she sighed as she closed her eyes and nuzzled against his chest. Clint glanced down to her, tightening his arm around.

When Fury had named him the new director, and handed him a Tiny box, Coulson was completely confused. It was a job that he would give his all to do correctly, but he knew it would be tough. He was glad he was at least given a starting point. Another secret base, the Playground as it was named, where they could plan and figure out the next move. It wasn't until late one night did the cube that the director gave him begin to glow. He was half asleep and thought he may have been dreaming as he reached over and grabbed the cube. Suddenly coordinates appeared. He quickly grabbed a pen and paper and wrote them down. He looked them up, they weren't that far from where he was right now.

The next morning before his team had even awaken, Coulson jumped into a car and drove to find where these coordinates lead. He'd been driving for a few hours when he happened upon a gate. A part of him was wishing he'd brought back up, but the other part of him knew that any direction given from the box was probably meant for him. He pulled up to the gate to see a speaker box. He rolled down his window before reaching out and pushing the call button. There was no immediate answer, but soon a distorted voice did speak.

"Can I help you?"

"Uh, I'm not sure." Coulson said letting his eyes scan over the area. "I was sort of told to come here."

"Told by who?"

Coulson turned back to the speaker and looked at it for a moment. A sudden thought crossed his mind and at the point he would just try it.

"Nick Fury" Coulson replied. No one said anything after that and he was beginning to get nervous. Suddenly the gate parted for him to enter. Taking that as the only invitation he was going to get, Coulson lightly hit the gas pedal and drove inside. Past the tall trees was a large farm it would seem. Coulson spotted the large house within moments of coming through the gate. It didn't look like something SHIELD would be into, but then again he stopped believing that he knew SHIELD like he thought he did. The first person he saw was a woman bent down, digging in a garden. The moment his car stopped, so did she and she stood to her feet and turned to him.

"Can I help you?" the woman called and Coulson simply stepped out of his car. The woman seemed to look him over before looking back to his face for an answer. "What are you doing here?" Coulson looked at the woman for a moment unable to not see a slight resemblance in her features. He took a step forward and she in turn took a step back. "Will you say something, because you really are freaking me out." They both turned at the sound of the screen door slamming shut. Coulson just stood there frozen as he watched a man who shouldn't be walking toward them. "Do you know what's going on?"

"I think I do" the man said coming to stand next to he woman. Coulson simply stood there looking between the man and the woman, when it suddenly hit him like a sack of bricks. "So I take it you're Nicky's replacement?"

"Oh" the woman said turning back to Coulson with a smile. "Why didn't you say so?" Coulson didn't speak. He couldn't actually form words at the moment. "Is something wrong?"

"I think he didn't expect to drive in here and see two dead people" the man said. "I guess this is your operation now. At the moment we're dead to the world. No one knows-"

"Somebody does" Coulson interrupted before turning to the man. "Somebody knows and they're targeting her because of it." the man and woman both stared in confusion. "What the fuck, how are neither of you not dead!"

"We'll get to that later." Cynthia Chambers said taking a step toward Coulson. She snapped her fingers in front of the man's face as he seemed to glaze over.

"Cindy-"

"Oh, shut it Martie." Cynthia replied before turning back to Coulson. "Right now I want to know who hell is after our daughter?"

* * *

**A/N: Oh yes I freaking did. Everybody lies and apparently no one truly dies. Just so you know, this story is not over, it's just a bit of a hiatus as I map out where this story is going. So don't hate me and don't abandon me just yet, because when I come back, we're going to find out just how a man Katie watched get shot in the head can still be alive, or why HYDRA is desperately seeking her mother. And then at some point, we'll figure out this whole Agent Black business that came right out of left field.**

***Thanks for Reading!***

**Until next time, **

**DWH**


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